Katrina vanden Heuvel: We Must Curb Conservatives’ Deficit Obsession

Katrina vanden Heuvel: We Must Curb Conservatives’ Deficit Obsession

Katrina vanden Heuvel: We Must Curb Conservatives’ Deficit Obsession

In a time of recession, why should the most vulnerable Americans—and not the richest 2 percent—pay the price of US debt?

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Republican shock doctors have been too successful in labeling the expiration of the Bush tax cuts as a "fiscal cliff," in hopes of gutting vital social services. But in a time of recession, why should the most vulnerable Americans—and not the richest 2 percent—pay the price of US debt? “Citizens of conscience need to reframe this debate, that it’s about jobs and growth,” said Nation editor and publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel. She joins Nation blogger Ari Melber on MSNBC’s Now with Alex Wagner to call on progressives to fight back against the well-funded austerity agenda.

—Christie Thompson

The Congressional Progressive Caucus is rejecting the "Grand Bargain" and demanding we protect social services. Check out Katrina vanden Heuvel on "The Budget Deal We Deserve."

We cannot back down

We now confront a second Trump presidency.

There’s not a moment to lose. We must harness our fears, our grief, and yes, our anger, to resist the dangerous policies Donald Trump will unleash on our country. We rededicate ourselves to our role as journalists and writers of principle and conscience.

Today, we also steel ourselves for the fight ahead. It will demand a fearless spirit, an informed mind, wise analysis, and humane resistance. We face the enactment of Project 2025, a far-right supreme court, political authoritarianism, increasing inequality and record homelessness, a looming climate crisis, and conflicts abroad. The Nation will expose and propose, nurture investigative reporting, and stand together as a community to keep hope and possibility alive. The Nation’s work will continue—as it has in good and not-so-good times—to develop alternative ideas and visions, to deepen our mission of truth-telling and deep reporting, and to further solidarity in a nation divided.

Armed with a remarkable 160 years of bold, independent journalism, our mandate today remains the same as when abolitionists first founded The Nation—to uphold the principles of democracy and freedom, serve as a beacon through the darkest days of resistance, and to envision and struggle for a brighter future.

The day is dark, the forces arrayed are tenacious, but as the late Nation editorial board member Toni Morrison wrote “No! This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.”

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Onwards,

Katrina vanden Heuvel
Editorial Director and Publisher, The Nation

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