I recently found myself with three hours to kill at Newark’s Liberty airport so I bellied up to the bar, ordered a burrito, and struck up a conversation with the person next to me. Reggie is thirty-two, well-educated with a good job (an anesthesiologist), and by his own admission, he doesn’t know much about what’s going on politically. I gave Reggie my card and told him to tune-in to Qmuze to educate himself on what’s happening in Washington. Reggie, I hope you are listening — Washington needs your help!
Most people like Reggie have a vague idea that America has a debt problem, but they generally don’t understand how bad the problem is. We naively expect politicians to reach compromises for the greater good. Unfortunately, the only thing politicians have been able to agree on is that something has to be done. Last week Standard and Poor lowered its outlook on U.S. debt from “stable” to “negative” threatening our AAA rating. We borrow almost half of every dollar we spend and the rest of the world is starting to worry about us. Our reputation, and our ability to protect ourselves and to conduct business are at great risks. Congress will soon vote, yet again, on raising the debt limit. Reggie, this would be like you getting a new credit card to solve the problem of maxing out your old one. Projections for the future show America’s debt problem getting much worse very fast.
The raging debate in Washington over how to reduce the deficit goes something like this: Reduce entitlements (social security, medicare, and medicaid), or raise taxes.
Most Republicans/conservatives want a small government with lower taxes and fewer entitlements. They argue that people should be responsible and save for their health-care, retirement, and emergencies. They trust the free markets and competition to keep prices fair.
For years people came to America with not much more than hopes and dreams. These people worked hard, took risks, and created the wealthiest and most powerful nation in the world in a very short amount of time, and with no government safety net. Conservatives argue that higher taxes equal less opportunity for people that choose to work hard. Fiscal conservatives believe they can put their money to better use by consuming, and by starting businesses to create jobs than the government can by taxing and creating more bureaucracy. They understand that sometimes people need a helping hand, but they are against creating a subset of society that “expects” a handout. They believe that too much government — entitlement programs, welfare, unemployment benefits — creates lack of incentive for people to do for themselves.
Democrats/progressives, on the other hand, generally agree that we need higher taxes and the defense budget, not entitlements, should be cut. They believe government has more bargaining power, and is more efficient than free markets in handling health-care and retirement needs. They see America as a wealthy nation that has a moral responsibility to serve its elderly and less fortunate.
Both sides are well-meaning and both sides may be right — to some degree.
The big bubble in our aging population makes it impossible for entitlements, in their current form, to be sustained. The average person pays in $150,000 to Medicare but uses $450,000. The $300,000 difference is passed on for future generations to pay (this means you, Reggie). The Republicans argue that it’s immoral to lay this kind of debt on our children and grandchildren.
Our deficit is so great that it will be nearly impossible to tackle without higher taxes, at least in the short term. Most polls show that Americans don’t favor higher taxes except for the wealthy. About half of all voters don’t pay any federal tax and the top 1% of income earners already pay 38% of federal income tax. There is no way the wealthy can close the budget gap.
Polls show that Americans don’t want to give up any of their entitlements and they don’t want to pay higher taxes. People don’t want to sacrifice and the politicians have led Americans to believe that they don’t have to.
Politicians like getting re-elected and therefore don’t want to make anyone angry, so they tell everyone what they want to hear and then blame the “other side” for all of the problems. They “kick the can down the road” for future politicians and generations to deal with. The “can” is now a land mine.
The next few elections will define which direction America is going to move toward. The crux of the debate is over who we want to be as a nation: America with a small government, or America with a big government. The 2010 elections hinted that America has grown tired of the move toward European-style social governance, but the polls show they don’t want to give up their entitlements. We want it all, and we want it all now! This is a problem. Politicians are not magicians.
We need you Reggie. Study the debates (both sides) and make an informed decision about what kind of government you want — big taxes and big entitlements or lower taxes with fewer entitlements — then call up your senator or congressperson and demand action. There are consequences to either choice, but one thing’s for sure: We can’t have it both ways any longer.
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Thank you for writing this, Carla: ) I’m like Reggie–have never understood politics, and to some degree, always believed that there is so much corruption in politics it is difficult to know what is really going on. This at least paints a clear portrait of what is happening, and which parties are involved. I’m 37, and just now learned what politics are about, LOL!