The President’s budget proposal debuted last week to a lukewarm review from Democrats and staunch criticism from Republicans. The proposal came just days after the release of the GOP’s own proposal, which was also praised and condemned along party lines.
Democrats accuse Republicans of reducing the deficit at the expense of the elderly and poor, while Republicans blame Democrats for ignoring the deficit at the expense of future generations of Americans. In his proposal speech, President Obama stated, “we must do it [reduce the deficit] without putting at risk current retirees, the most vulnerable, or people with disabilities.”
Republican Paul Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee, described Obama’s proposal as “excessively partisan, dramatically inaccurate and hopelessly inadequate” and claimed “the President’s policies are committing us and our children to a diminished future.”
Frankly, both parties’ obstinacy is “dramatically” and “excessively” redundant. There are many situations where Republicans and Democrats seem to agree but, nevertheless, continue to quarrel because of political ideology. Both acknowledge that the deficit needs to be reduced by $4 trillion, the debt ceiling raised, defense spending reduced, and the tax code reformed.
Republicans and Democrats, for example, have publicly acknowledged that the federal tax code is broken and needs to be reformed. Billions of dollars are spent every year on tax preparation and evasion. The federal tax code consists of more than nine million words. An estimated 3.3 million full-time jobs are consumed by tax compliance.
Moreover, experts estimate the US government loses over $60 billion each year because of a loophole in the federal tax code that allows companies to transfer income from the US to so called “tax havens” throughout the world.
For decades, Presidents and members of Congress have campaigned for tax reform, yet no progress has been made. Instead, the code has been amended over 14,000 times and is now more convoluted than ever.
Reformation of the tax code is just one of many instances in which both parties have reached a consensus but little or no progress has been made because of political posturing.
Our government came close to shutting down two weeks ago because of relatively minor ideological differences. Some sources say the compromise eventually came down to a debate over funding Planned Parenthood. What kind of image is the ‘leading nation’ trying to project to the world?
The US will reach its borrowing limit, or “debt ceiling,” by June of this year. Congress is expected to vote on raising the debt ceiling within the next few weeks. Despite warnings from economists, CEOs, and federal agencies about the economic chaos that would ensue without an extension of the debt limit, some members of the Tea Party in Congress have threatened to vote against the increase unless more of their demands are met.
This posturing is politically extreme and threatens the US economy. Political ideology should never jeopardize vital US interests. But all too often we let political ideology trump our rationality. The debate over our deficit cannot fall victim to this partisan bickering.
The President says he will not reduce the deficit on the backs of the poor and sick. Republicans say they will not raise taxes on the rich. Both say there will have to be some tough choices and sacrifices. I see neither party making those “tough” choices.
Republicans and Democrats need to pony up and cut programs or raise taxes on an ‘as necessary’ basis. Every socioeconomic class will need to bear some share of the load; all were benefactors of the government living beyond its means.
Debate over the deficit should be approached rationally. Consensus about reducing the deficit should be embraced, not used as leverage for advancing a political agenda. The stakes are simply too high.
