Newspaper stories and breaking news releases on TV all praised
the fact our elected officials had finally reached an agreement
on the country’s debt crisis.
Once the votes were tallied, most of the congressional representatives
were off to what they deemed their well deserved vacations.
Many of them had expressed dismay when they had to give up
summer breaks to finish the budget bill they had been fighting
over since the first of the year. The reality of it was more
time was spent buck-passing than doing constructive decision-making.
The sensitive subjects that were kicked back and forth between
the donkeys and the elephants were simply set aside for more
wrangling later. What appears to be a settlement was perhaps
just a quick way to get out of town, and oh by the way, avoid
disaster for our country at the 11th hour.
As
I see it, the threats of cutting entitlements and setting
aside tax increases finally allowed our elected officials
to agree to vote on a “temporary” bill. All
the posturing done by prospective presidential seekers,
hoping
to keep their
names in the minds of constituents, and be deemed the
one who saved our country, was what drove the issue to
the
last minute.
After
watching a few interviews of those who voted, I’m
not convinced all the badgering, name-calling and finger
pointing actually produced a sound agreement. I even
heard mention of
re-hashing the bill just passed as early as when congress
reconvenes.
The next six months will give our leaders (?) time to reconsider
the debt ceiling because, believe it or not, we will revisit
the entire issue again with perhaps a few new players.
The
way our elected officials acted the past few weeks was not
unlike kids on the playground who said, “If you don’t
play my way, I’m going to take MY ball and
go home.”
John
Boehner, throughout the entire proceedings, acted like a
spoiled child when he appeared on
national TV,
especially when he pouted and said he had presented
the best proposal
but no one would pass it. Poor John, it would
have been great
if he had taken “his bill” and gone
home.
I
actually don’t believe our government
gained anything with the bill they passed.
Nothing changed
other than the
debt ceiling increased. That action was inevitable
because they
had approved the spending and were really only
deciding whether to pay the bills they created
or look like
total fools.
I believe they managed to do both.
Many
political pundits, including myself, believe we have to find
a way to completely change the way
our country is governed.
We cannot just sit around and wait until
another country cuts off our credit, limits our access
to oil
or takes
over our
manufacturing. We can’t avoid tax
restructuring if we are unable to pay our
bills. If the
top 400 richest people in our country pay
no tax,
or as
some of them
admit,
pay
the
same amount as their gardeners, we cannot
afford to give them federal funds to support
their
businesses.
It
is time for our elected officials to take control of our
country. If we can’t
tax the richest surly we can restrict
their access
to entitlements.
Were
the entitlements
not collected
from those who paid taxes?
A
headline I found amusing was: “Obama promises action
on jobs now that the debt fight is over.” If he knew
a way to create jobs and hasn’t
done so, he should be replaced. After
all, new
jobs equal
more
tax revenue
which lowers the need to increase the
debt ceiling.
Why
can’t we try this — equal
taxation dollar for dollar. If you
make $5,000, pay
10 percent. If you
make $500,000,
pay 10 percent. Everyone would be
equal and there would be no dissention. If
we put this
in place
we could
perhaps live
under our economy as we know it today.
We should also receive reports from our individual congressional
representatives regarding bills they voted on and how they
cast their votes. They should also tell us how many times they
missed a vote or an important hearing on one. With these reports
made public to each and every one of us, we would have a better
knowledge of what to expect when we elect someone. This arrangement
would make running for re-election less work and require less
campaign time and expense because we would all be up to date
on their activities.
With this reporting arrangement in place, all elected officials
would be free to take care of the responsibilities they were
elected to do.
BREAKING NEWS
WHILE
MY COLUMN WAS BEING TYPED FOR SUBMISSION AND BEFORE IT WAS
COMPLETED, I RECEIVED
A REPORT FROM SENATOR CARL LEVIN VIA EMAIL. WITHIN MINUTES
OF
READING HIS REPORT, I RECEIVED
AN EMAIL FROM SENATOR DEBBIE
STABENOW’S
OFFICE PROMISING A WEEKLY
REPORT. THE SENATORS MUST HAVE
MIND READERS ON
THEIR STAFF.
I WAS VERY PLEASED TO HEAR FROM BOTH OF THEM AND LOOK TO THE
FUTURE FOR THEIR ADDITIONAL COMMUNIQUES. WE CAN BE GRATEFUL
FOR THE RESPONSIBLE REPRESENTATIVES IN OUR MICHIGAN SEATS.