Do The Freakin Math

Liberals and conservatives alike frequently rely on limited evidence, personal experience, religious beliefs or gut emotions to determine solutions for complex problems. From immigration to global warming - taxes to terrorism - or health care to free trade - analytical study is rare. Science based policy making isn’t the way of Washington. And the consequences are catastrophic. Change is urgently needed. Just do the freakin’ math.

Monday, July 04, 2011

GOP House of destruction

Dear Editor,
Congressman Carter (“Returning Government to Basics” 7-4-11. Washington Times) needs to be schooled on both the workings of our Constitution and the way the real world works.
First, our “current crisis” wasn’t “created” by Obama. It was the GOP’s unrealistic ideology implemented with control of all three branches of our government during most of the Bush Administration. Their destructive abuse of power was corrected in 2008 but their prior incompetence isn’t so easily undone.
Second, our Founding fathers never intended for the House to wield more power than the Senate and President combined as Mr. Carter seems to believe. The founders designed the House to reflect short term interests of the American people. A majority who now appear more interested in the winner of American Idol than our nation’s longer term interests.
Third, even if Congressman Carter and his GOP House leadership got their way and passed a bill cutting our nation’s unacceptable U.S. budget deficit and our killer debt we still wouldn’t be any safer or economically prosperous than we are now. The global economic consequences of a “Greek style calamity” would still bring us down. This global economic interdependence is a product of globally unregulated capitalism...something most of the GOP appears to worship.
House Republican’s appear more interested in using their “hammer” to destroy any chances of an Obama reelection than constructing a balanced approach to a balanced budget with some legislative compromise that was intended by our Founding Fathers. Some increase in taxes, particularly targeting the havens that the rich believe they are entitled to, combined with significant cuts to some middle class entitlements would be helpful.
We can balance the budget. But with our current infrastructure in tatters and growing chaos in the world undeterred by any level of US military spending, perhaps we need to find another way. Accepting our global interdependence and empowering global institutions that can to prevent problems before they reach our shores would be a balancing of power and economic burden that would give us all a more free, secure and prosperous future.

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