These days, you can't turn on the TV or radio without hearing a "news" story or pundit "analysis" about the battle over deficit reduction by budget cuts or revenue generation.
Republicans want to balance the budget on the backs of the middle class and the poor by cutting "entitlements" (ie, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment, Pel Grants, food stamps, and whatever programs are left of Johnson's War on Poverty). Heaven forbid that they would consider taxing the rich, taxing financial transactions, raising the income cap for Social Security benefits, or anything like that.
Austerity is their battle cry. After the jump, watch this video featuring John Nichols of The Nation explaining the hoax of austerity.