I normally try to stay away from publicizing my view on the Web, Facebook, and other Social Networking sites. However, I can’t keep my mouth shut any longer.
As our country faces the impending “Fiscal Cliff,” Both the republicans and the democrats are once again establishing political polarizing positions that make the problem difficult if not impossible to fix. Negotiating from a position of that makes the extreme in each party happy and does nothing to fix the problem for the majority of their constituency (that would be you and I). If the congress and president continue to handle this situation in this manner every American loses.
Let me start by saying I am a fiscal conservative and liberal on some social issues. I don’t believe that either side has all the answers. I also believe that most Americans fall into same category or similar line of thought. I don’t believe this country should be ruled by the religious right or the liberal left. I am a centralist.. I am tolerant of the extremist and their voice should be heard.. After all, this country was founded on that very principle. (No it wasn’t but I won’t get into that) but the far right and left should not rule…….
Back to the imminent Cliff. Our country has overspent. We can all argue as to the reason why and who is responsible for it. But the fact is, we as a country are used to pulling out Uncle Sam’s credit card and charging whatever we need.. Or should I say whatever we want. The prosperous 1990’s, ruined the American people. Our GDP was up, the country was over employed, inflation was minimal, and we weren’t fighting wars all over the world. We had a balanced budget and for a short period of time a surplus. But as the economy softened and GDP dropped we were unwilling to adjust our lifestyles to compensate. So for the past 12 years we have borrowed to afford the things we desire… Not need….
I relate it to a small business that was booming and lost 2/3 of its business and chose not to compensate by reducing cost. Or a family where one of the bread winners lost their job and chose not to cut expenses. Instead, chose to run up credit cards or refinance to borrow more money against their house to make ends meet. Eventually you have to pay the piper..
So this is where we are as country… and here is my solution…
Republicans.. Give the president exactly what he wants. Raise the taxes on the rich.. Actually, suggest that we should raise taxes on everyone.
Democrats… Give the republicans what they want. Spending cuts and entitlement reform.
Both sides suggest one or both of these things would either be bad or good for this country depending on your perspective. But here is the reality, We need more taxes and less spending to balance the budget. Choosing to do anything else is irresponsible. The republicans argue that more taxes will cause business to retract. Democrats argue that cutting spending will cause a retraction in our GDP and that we need government spending to spur the economy. Both are wrong. We need to increase revenue and cut spending. This will eventually lead to a balanced budget (we need a balanced budget amendment with a flexibility clause to deal with emergencies, but no time to deal with this issue.. that’s a thesis in itself).
I am going to over simplify this for the sake of time.. If we balance our budget, by cutting spending and increasing taxes, or seriously make an attempt to reduce our deficit, we will do several positive things for our country. Discussion of all the positives would take an encyclopedia…. So I will only mention a few
- We will gain financial respect around the world, making our bonds more attractive allowing the US to borrow money at more favorable terms. Less Interest, More money in our pockets.
- The value of the American dollar will increase. This means that everything we buy overseas will be less expensive. Mainly Oil. This in itself will result in everything we consume to be less expensive. Gas, Plastics, food, housing, clothing cost would all drop do to an increase in the value of the American dollar. It’s easily conceivable that The Dollar would increase in value by 20 percent. Do the math.
- Increased purchasing power for all Americans will reduce the need for entitlements. (Taboo ). It will also increase spending by the middle class as well as the affluent. Not necessarily by choice, but the American dollar will buy more…
Take only the above items and extrapolate this throughout the American society. We all need to push our representatives and president to represent. Stop playing games and govern for the majority of Americans. We as Americans are forced to balance our personal budgets. Sometimes we need to raise additional revenues by working overtime or charging more for our services and we are also forced to cut expenses to make ends meet. We are rewarded when we do so by having enough money to make ends meet. It’s time for our government to do the same thing.
So let’s raise taxes by 2 trillion dollars, and cut spending by 500 billion. Both sides win and so do the American people. No one wants to hear the truth but by doing both, we all are better off. It’s hard to imagine paying more or perhaps receiving less depending on which end of the yard stick you are on, but here is the reality. By making tough decisions now America becomes a stronger country. Our financial position improves, and the cost of most everything we consume will reduce. The end result will be a net positive.. The cost reduction to each American will offset the loss in income or entitlement you were receiving. As the country becomes more responsible GDP will increase, employment will flourish, and we will once again lead the world.
So Mr. President, Speaker Boehner, and all the rest of you, who were elected to represent your constituency, please resist the temptation to negotiate from the left or right and do what is good for America. Or do nothing and let the mandatory cuts and tax increases go into on January 1st.
My guess is that you will choose to do only part of the above, and leave this country with more debt and even tougher problems to solve.... only to satisfy the extremes.
Just my opinion! So there it is..
