Leave it to the Charlotte Observer’s editorial board to lecture the rest of us on fiscal responsibility. These Haight-Ashbury rejects advocated every big government program that’s put forth by every whack-job socialist on the international, national, state and local scene. Now that the country’s back is against the wall, these spendthrifts are trying to make themselves out to be budget hawks. Here is a commentary on the Bowles, Simpson Debt Commission:
While the specifics deserve a thorough examination, their message and approach were spot-on. Their message: America's profligacy is a real threat to its status as an economic superpower and attacking our enormous debt will be painful for almost everyone. Their approach: About $1 trillion in new revenue, about $2.2 trillion in spending cuts and almost $700 billion in interest savings by 2020.
The reactions were predictable. Nancy Pelosi and the AFL-CIO instantly labeled it unacceptable because of its spending cuts and reining in of Social Security. Republican reaction was mixed but many leading conservatives dismissed the proposal because of the higher taxes.
Well there you have it, and that's why America is careening toward bankruptcy. The United States borrows 37 cents of every dollar it spends. It's putting over a trillion dollars on the credit card every year. At some point, the bond markets will revolt and the financial crisis of the past two years will look like child's play.
Balancing the budget and paying down the debt means dramatic spending cuts and tax hikes. That's not an opinion; that's math. But politicians will not make the difficult choices because voters by and large are not demanding that they do so.
Are you kidding me? What in the hell do you think has been happening in the past two years? Maybe you’ve heard about a grassroots movement called the tea party? We started a march outside your offices last year. Remember that? I believe all of those years of smoking pot have affected their memory. Move away from the bong.
Here are some of Charlotte Observer's suggestions for balancing the budget and reducing the debt:
A gas tax hike of 15 cents a gallon. Painful? Yes. But it hasn't increased in 17 years. It would generate billions, and push the nation to reduce its demand for oil, much of which we buy from hostile regimes.
$100 billion in military spending cuts. As the biggest discretionary part of the budget, lower defense spending has to be part of the solution.
Reforming Social Security with higher retirement ages, lower cost-of-living adjustments and other changes. Social Security, created in 1935, was never meant to provide income for the final 30 years of a person's life. And raising the income that is subject to the Social Security payroll tax is a no-brainer.
I can agree on the spending cuts in the military, maybe not the 100 billion. But there is waste in every bureaucracy. I can also agree that Social Security was never meant to be the sole income for retirees. Raising the payroll tax and age requirement is not the way to go. The Observer believes that a majority of the people will live to be a hundred. I don’t. Making the eligibility requirement so high that death would be an impediment to collecting, shows that advocates have more of an interest in survival of the program rather than the participates. I believe means testing and privatization is more beneficial.
The gas tax hike of 15 cents a gallon is a job killer. That cost affects everything from groceries to big ticket items. The Observer believes it would generate billions in dollars of revenue, when in fact it would do just the opposite. Do they actually think businesses are going to eat that cost? Of course not, they are going to pass that on to the consumer. People are tightening their belts now, how is another tax going to help?
If we’re really serious about cutting the national debt and balancing the federal budget, then we are going to have to make drastic cuts in the bureaucracies. We need a decentralization of power from Washington D.C. to the states. That means whole agencies must go. We can start with getting rid of the Department of Education; Agriculture; Energy; and the EPA. All subsidies must come to a halt: agriculture; foreign; arts; corporate; you name it…it must stop.
The first place we can make cuts is the Obama Czar machine. I wonder how many millions are wasted on those Marxist bastards. There are plenty of cuts to go around. We just need the will to do it.
Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/11/14/1836909/bowles-simpson-have-gall-thank.html#ixzz15HLzsZOXt
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