My Cut
Recent events in Arizona and the Middle East have put an unplanned pause into Republican energy to cut the budget. Some might argue there was never any energy for action other than talk. In any case, time has now interceded. Surprise, surprise, as the smoke clears, the Republican proposals look foolish and unworkable. This reality the wise swiftly walk away from.
Republicans have said they will not cut social security, medicare, or the defense budget. As a result Republicans are put in a quandary. What should they cut?
Like all good politicians, it is always better to say what you would do, then to actually do it and live with the consequences. Cut education funding when test scores are showing American students falling further behind other countries? Cut highway and waterway maintenance and watch our bridges collapse and our seaports become obsolete? Cut aid to inner cities and watch street crime skyrocket? None of these are pretty options.
Another realization is that this Federal spending is like a lubricant. The Federal spending trickles down with each government layer taking a cut. If more layers of government are Republican controlled, spending is not so evil (ala George W Bush). If Democrats control, then watch out, the Tea Party is coming to the rescue.
All of this is beside the point. What should be at issue is whether the spending is producing the intended results. If not, then spending should be revised until a more effective program can be established.
Commonsense should bring us also to realize that Defense spending is over the top. It should be reduced by 30% or more. Social security should also have its benefits slight adjusted to take into account the longer life expectancy of Americans. Even more important, social security pay roll taxes should be increase. Medicare and Medicaid should also be reviewed but these benefits should not vary meaningfully from those provided Federal employees. Medicare payroll taxes should also increased. But more important than these Medicare adjustments, health care cost, which is the basic cost driver should be completely reviewed and steps taken to both cap and reduce the cost of health care.
This is a public discussion we are unlikely to ever hear. Too many people receive a slice in either the public or private pool of money. No one likes to give up their cut.
This entry was posted on January 31, 2011 at 11:04 am and is filed under Barack Obama, Democratic Party, Politics, Republican Party. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.
Tags: debt, deficits, education, federal spending, health care costs, medicare, social security, tea party
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