Friday, February 18, 2011

Up on the Roof.


Words. For Your Consideration...

"...Yes, this country needs to do something about the national debt. But the United States won't get anywhere near fiscal stability by cutting taxes and cutting only discretionary spending. If you've been paying attention, you've probably heard this, but it bears repeating: Entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare must be reformed along with military spending. Those are the political graveyards where Beltway insiders log the big-league spending. If we're not moving on these issues, we're not making progress on the national debt. Period.

In the meantime, what to do about discretionary spending? If you're like me, you read the GOP's list of proposed cuts and go apoplectic. We cut taxes of the wealthiest of America's wealthy for the next two years, and we're partially paying for it by slashing funds that help struggling mothers feed their children?

We're telling the nation's best and brightest: Don't go to teach in America's lowest-performing districts - we can't afford it. We're going to give oil companies $4 billion in subsidies instead (on top of profits that approached $80 billion last year). You've got to be kidding.

It's time to get real. Time to start thinking sensibly about what we expect from government. Time to decide what sort of country we are..."

  • THE WASHINGTON POST: GOP's budget tactics won't get us the country we want
  • No comments: