A nice fantasy for the New Year

As I write, the "fiscal cliff" talks seem to have collapsed. Maybe those guys in Washington will put them together again, maybe not. I can't bring myself to care.

The realities of the situation remain the same: government has certain necessary tasks that it must perform for the common good. We argue about what those tasks are, but in the last election the majority of the people rendered some clear direction:

• The government should support job creation in every way possible;

• The economy should be made to work for ordinary people, not just for vulture capitalists;

• Elders should retain access to affordable health care through Medicare and there should be no cuts Social Security;

• Education should be accessible to young people who want it.

• We expect government to provide a safety net for people who have been crushed by an under-regulated economic system that privileges greed.

• No more dumb wars.

All these items except the last cost money. Roughly speaking, the policy of President Obama and the Democrats is to get the money for the government to do its job from the people who have the money -- that is, from rich people. It is the policy of the Republicans to put the government out of business. We rejected the latter option.

For the moment, the Prez and his fractious Democratic partners seem to be hanging tough, sticking up for the people who put them in office. The fantasy is that Dems will stay the course. The degree to which they do so will depend on how much heat they feel from constituents. We can't let up on them -- that's my fantasy for the New Year.