In an interview on day two of the shutdown of the US government, President Obama offered talks on cutting social programs such as Medicare and Social Security in return for Republican support for funding federal operations and raising the national debt ceiling.

More... (http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/10/03/shut-o03.html)

I was wondering if this was a bit of hyberbole directed at yet another feint or trial balloon but maybe they're going for it this time:

http://nationalreview.com/corner/360234/boehner-gop-grand-bargain-works-robert-costa

If not this time then the next, it's going to happen during Obama's term, it will be his real 'legacy'.

From the Trot OP:


Obama’s remarks added to mounting evidence that behind the appearance of partisan warfare in Washington, the two big business parties are planning to use a crisis produced by an extended government shutdown as a smokescreen for reaching a deal to impose historic attacks on the bedrock social programs left over from the New Deal and Great Society periods.

You could see this coming from statements Colonel Obama has been giving - all about "willingness to compromise", "giving and taking in a democracy", "moving the country forward", "meeting in the middle", blah, blah, blah. Makes your skin crawl...

So far I haven't seen much about compromise, it's a full out theatrical production, BUT I also have noted that TPP is still being worked on behind the scenes. And that is very disconcerting because it has the potential to be even harder on this country than NAFTA. We are going to lose boatloads of jobs when they ram that thing through.

During his speech today, the president said something rather strange. “If a worker shut down a manufacturing plant until they got what they wanted, they’d be fired,” Obama shouted.

In a free market, this would be true because the worker would be able to be fired for breach of contract or what you will. But, in most circumstances in America, it is not true because laws that the president supports term this a “strike” and prevent the business owner from getting rid of the offending worker. Are we to presume that the president doesn’t know this, or that he is about to announce a conversion to the dark side and come out as as libertarian?

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/360298/president-obama-libertarian-charles-c-w-cooke

During his speech today, the president said something rather strange. “If a worker shut down a manufacturing plant until they got what they wanted, they’d be fired,” Obama shouted.

In a free market, this would be true because the worker would be able to be fired for breach of contract or what you will. But, in most circumstances in America, it is not true because laws that the president supports term this a “strike” and prevent the business owner from getting rid of the offending worker. Are we to presume that the president doesn’t know this, or that he is about to announce a conversion to the dark side and come out as as libertarian?

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/360298/president-obama-libertarian-charles-c-w-cooke

That's funny, "come out as a libertarian", these folks are pretty slow on the uptake. It seems as though the lines blur between libertarian/neoliberal/liberal. Those progressives gotta get with the program and hang up their ineffectual bleeding hearts or they'll have no home except maybe the Greens, who given the chance will prostitute themselves just like their German comrades.