Now that the debt ceiling crisis has met with a faux-resolution guaranteed to do absolutely nothing for the US’s fading economy, we can look forward to phase two. In that scenario, 12 members of both houses of the Congress, representing both major parties would form a “Super Committee” which would decide where the cuts are to be made.

No revenues to balance the budget? No problem, the Republicans pledge.

In this deal, no tax evasion holes were closed and no move made to end the tax break for the richest Americans instituted by Republican George W. Bush (and extended by Barack Obama whose party affiliation now seems uncertain to many Americans.)

None of the talking heads in our 24/7/365 electronic news coverage has mentioned the possibility that congressional leaders and the White House may have thrown more pork at a reluctant congress than Jimmie Dean at a Texas barbecue. We know that business as usual in Washington too often involves monies thrown at state projects in exchange for the lawmaker’s political support. New Englanders need only do a simple Googling of the phrase “pork barrel” for endless search results about Boston’s Big Dig as a prime pork example. That underground roadway project costing more than $14 billion (or over $4 billion per mile, according to Wikipedia) was a thank you note to the late Tip O’Neill, the legendary House Speaker best known for his belief that, “All politics is local.”

The problem Speaker John Boehner had this time is that more than four score Tea Party members of Congress decry “pork.” So what did he buy them off with? A balanced budget promise?   If so those who know what that really means and how dangerous a concept it is wish he had given away trillions instead.

The promise that there will be no new taxes was also part of the buyout, and when the Super Committee realizes no amount of cutting is going to cure a deficit that goes back decades they will be paralyzed by the short-sightedness and inequity of their own invention.

We’re going to hell folks; economically speaking. The Dow fell more than 200 points right after the deal, on the heels of its worst week in a year. And if the likely downgrade from an AAA credit rating to an AA happens in the next few months we will be paying even higher interest rates for the money the US has to borrow from the Chinese and others to function. Already more than 40 cents on every dollar we spend was borrowed from Beijing, London, Rio or Tokyo. This time next year we may be buying eggs with Yuan instead of dollars.

People wonder what the answer is and who to vote for next election. But it is way beyond voting. Every candidate in Washington is bought, paid for and owned by tax-avoiding corporate interests (General Electric, Wall Street, Pharmaceutical, Tobacco and Liquor lobbies, banks, airlines and aircraft builders,) who front the money it takes to get them elected. 

Face it: those interests are now much more important than you will ever be.