Patria's 2012-13 budget: austerity is the word

At some point during the week of June 25-29, the Speaker of the House will bang the gavel, blow the vuvuzela, and declare the Second Session of the 49th Congress adjourned until September. In the meantime, Congress is sitting in a marathon session, debating and voting on Patria's 2012-13 budget. (The annual budget is usually the last major item on the congressional order paper, as Patria's fiscal year begins and ends on June 30.) As in much of the Euro zone, the key word is of course AUSTERITY. Budgets will be cut, programs will be chopped, services will be privatized, and tens of thousands of public-sector jobs will be sacrificed in an effort to stave off Recession Part Deux as the 49th Congress reaches the midpoint of its term of office. The mid-term message above is brought to you by the Patria-first economic hard-liners of the SRM and other parties that are part of the Diet Coke Party coalition. You heard it during the 2010 election campaign, and will likely hear it again in 2014. BRING THE JOBS HOME! BOYCOTT MADE-IN-CHINA!