Monday, July 25, 2011

Un-Sexy (but important) Political Post

Ok, I know that you don't come here to read my opinions on things non-sex related but if any U.S. citizens reading this are not familiar with the current tiff in Washington D.C. over the so-called "debt ceiling" issue, I encourage you to read it about it NOW.  It's not a sexy issue (trust me) and in the past, wouldn't have even made the news, but this current crop of bozos in our nation's capitol cannot seem to behave like adults and reach a reasonable compromise on an issue that potentially could affect ALL of us, Democrats and Republicans alike.  It could affect you in terms of higher mortgage and credit card rates and higher rates on car loans.  Most important, it could happen as soon as August 2nd!

I'll give you my take on the issue.  It appears to me that this current drama is all about partisan politics.  The Republicans - mainly those newly elected "Tea Party" house members - want to make President Obama look bad by letting our country default on its debt obligations.  Such a default has never occurred in our country's long history.  Further, many GOP members in both the House of Representatives and the Senate have signed something called the "Taxpayer Protection Pledge" which essentially is a promise to never, under any circumstances raise taxes.  Not for any reason.  That's just fucking ridiculous.  Paving roads, repairing bridges, collecting trash, paying teachers and funding wars all cost money people.  That money comes from revenue in the form of taxes all citizens pay.  I won't get into how not all of us pay at the same rates and why I think that's unfair, but that's another topic that's making this issue such a mess in Washington.  Don't get me wrong, I don't like paying taxes, but I sort of see it as my duty to my country and my fellow citizens.  Sure, I'd love to pay less in taxes, but the bottom line is that the U.S. has a large deficit (i.e. we've borrowed LOTS of money) and we need to responsible and begin paying it down.  We can argue all day about how we got here but that won't change a damn thing.  We simply have to reign in spending AND raise revenues.  It's really just basic math.

Think about this for a minute: If your elected official is willing to sign a pledge to never do something, is that the kind of person you want representing you?  Do you want someone speaking for you who apparently is willing to be bullied into a promise to do (or not do) something, or do you want someone who carefully weighs the facts and makes up their own mind based on what's going to do the most good for the largest number of people they represent?

So, this Taxpayer Protection Pledge is, like most pledges, stupid and unnecessary.  In my humble opinion, the leader of this anti-tax brigade, a man named Grover Norquist (I am not making that up), should be summarily kicked in the nuts and told to fuck off.  He is largely responsible for helping the GOP effectively paint itself into a corner where they cannot agree to anything President Obama proposes on this debt ceiling issue.  The Republican party has, unfortunately, been taken over by a bunch of people who seem more concerned about whether two dudes can legally marry each other or whether a woman has the right to choose how to treat her own body than about real issues that actually impact millions of our nations' citizens. 

I, for one, am SICK of this nonsense!  The narrow-minded and short-sighted people who make up the conservative movement in this country have done an absolutely fantastic job of making enough noise to be heard and to have other people pay attention to them.  But I simply do not believe that the majority of my fellow Americans agree with their agenda.  It's an example of the "squeaky wheel gets the grease".  Well, you know what?  It's time to drown out that squeaky wheel with the voices of reason and shut those morons the hell up!!!

I am SO not normally interested in politics but this country is in bad shape, folks, and it's getting worse.  I have never in my life written my Congressperson or Senator but tonight, I did both.  Here's a copy of what I emailed each of them:

I am writing tonight to urge you to do all you can to find a true compromise on this debt ceiling nonsense.  By compromise, I mean a plan that includes BOTH spending cuts as well as revenue increases.  I don't care that you signed Grover Norquist's ridiculous "Taxpayer Protection Pledge" and I doubt that any of your constituents will either if our country goes into default and interest rates jump as a result.  Such an increase in borrowing costs are tantamount to a tax INCREASE that will be harsher and bigger and affect a lot more people than the ones proposed by the Democrats.

So, enough of the political games and BS - PLEASE!  Do what is right for your country and the people you represent and encourage your allies in the Senate
(or Congress - I customized the message depending on the recipient) to be reasonable and accept a plan that makes sense for the greatest majority of American citizens.  Thank you.

So, dear reader, if you're not up to speed on this issue, I urge you to educate yourself about it and form your own opinion.  Then, do what I did - make your voice heard by writing to the people who represent you.  A quick Google search will help you find out how to contact your Senators and Congresspeople. 

In case you haven't guessed by now, I'm a pretty liberal guy and tend to more closely identify with "Democratic" ideas, but the President's proposal is actually very "Republican" in its approach to cut spending in entitlement programs.  Neither party is blameless here and neither has a perfect plan, but the idea that our country can only solve it's deficit problems by cutting spending is ridiculous and, in my opinion irresponsible.  We need more money coming in, too and the Democrats current proposal doesn't actually propose any significant tax increases.  It calls for closing some rather big loopholes and a return to Clinton-era tax rates for people making over $250,000 per year.  Did you make more than $250k last year?  I didn't.  I do ok but not THAT ok.

It's time for a change in this country.  We need to put an end to this highly partisan atmosphere that exists in Washington.  So please, do yourself (and me, and every other American) a favor and write your elected officials and let them know how you feel.  Let's get their attention and try to get them to act like freakin' adults, shall we? 

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