Where Do We Go From Here?

13 Jul, 2011 by Kathleen McKinley

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I notice the arguments between the left ande the right always follow the same line. The left blames Bush for the economy because of two unpaid for wars, a tax cut, and wall street greed. The right blames the CRA, banks being forced to give risky loans, and wall street greed, made worse by Obama, his stimulus, his huge spending spree, and Obamacare.

Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that everyone is right, at least to some extent. Because one thing we all agree on is that the government, whether headed by Republican or Democrat administrations, has brought us to this point. We are standing in a deep dark hole that we allowed the government to dig for us.

So, let’s stop bickering about what caused this mess (we aren’t going to change each other’s mind), and lets start right here. Even Democrats and Obama agree that cutting is essential. When we are at that point, we know we are in trouble. We can no longer pay bills we can no longer afford. Like I have said before, we let entitlements get out of control. We send welfare checks to able bodied people. We pay for free medical care for wealthy elderly. We reward poor women for having more children, but we give no incentives for the fathers to marry the mothers and create a firm family foundation. We have allowed illegal immigration, and free health care for them, to the point where hospitals in border states have had to close. We have a bloated government with Czars and Departments that are useless and only drain money. We have a government full of fraud, waste, and abuse. We have half of all Americans paying no federal income tax. Over the past year 11.6% of the $17 billion in unemployment benefits that were paid out were obtained through fraud.

I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. Many people have been warning this time would come, but they were ignored. Whether we like it or not, the end of the road is here. I think you and I both know the simple truth that if one wants to raise real revenue, they have to raise taxes on the middle class. Now, I don’t think that is the solution, but if Democrats were honest they would stop with the class warfare, and tell this simple truth that they believe. Taxing the rich won’t work, and we all know it. There is simply not enough of them. Obama loves to demonize the “corporate jet owners,” but he was he himself that gave those tax incentives to the jet owners in his stimulus package. Obama demonizes Oil companies, never mentioning that the Oil industry pays more taxes than any other industry in the United States.

Obama knew these things. But he would rather play the class card for re-election. But what we need now is honesty and leadership, not campaigning.

Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell has prepared a “contingency plan.” It’s complex, but NRO has the gist of it here:

The Kentucky Republican has proposed a convoluted scheme whereby the debt ceiling would increase and the president would have to submit specific spending cuts. Congress would have the power to keep the debt ceiling from rising if it amassed a two-thirds majority that found those cuts inadequate. The goal is to keep the government from hitting the debt ceiling, defaulting on its bonds, or interrupting popular programs on which millions of people rely, while also holding the president accountable for his fiscal choices.

Obama is trying to get away with saying that he is for cuts, but never mentions what he will cut. That way he doesn’t have to take the political heat for it. This program would not allow him to do that. He must be forced to lead, instead of campaign.

The reality is that the debt ceiling has to be raised. I know conservatives don’t like that (by poll numbers, most Americans don’t either), but we honestly can’t risk what that would do to our already fragile economy. My first reaction is like most Americans, just don’t raise it, but people smarter than I am have convinced me that that would be a disaster. So, McConnell’s plan is a good start.

But once again, McConnel also spoke the truth yesterday when he said, “After years of discussions and months of negotiations, I have little question that as long as this president is in the Oval Office, a real solution is probably unattainable.”

We can’t do real cuts until we have someone in the White House that is not comitted to big government. It’s really that simple. So I predict that our economy will continue to limp along until 2012. Then, if we elect a new President, then we can enact real reforms, including tax reform, that will allow this country to prosper once again.