Jeff McClure, Host of KTEM’s The Personal Wealth Coach, Responds To Lynn Wooley’s Position on the Debt Crisis
Lynn,
I stated that there is no current debt crisis. You disagree. So, read this article:
So who is correct on this? Is it you or Speaker Boehner? I agree with him that we have a potential for a crisis, just as we did following WWII, in the early 1970s and again in the mid-1980s. But, there is no crisis.
Crying "wolf" poorly serves the public or the nation, particularly when the wolf is only the potential for a wolf in a decade or more.
Factually, in the 1980s any reasonable person could recognize that we had a full blown Social Security debt crisis in our future. The Greenspan Commission provided us with a reasonable solution, which included an increase in taxes and an increase in the Federal Retirement Age. The Republicans and Democrats accepted the compromise and it was fixed. Now, people are living a lot longer and we have not a crisis but the potential for one. Sure, we can have one if everyone concerned insists on demonizing and denigrating anyone who disagrees with their stance, but a wee bit of cooperation and we can fix this. The Simpson Bowles Commission gave us some very sound moves to make that would neutralize a future debt problem, but the Democrats howl that entitlements cannot be cut or extended and the Republicans howl that taxes must be cut, and both do so in the face of record debt and deficit.
Following WWII we cut federal spending and raised taxes and our economy boomed. Following the win in the Cold War, we cut spending and raised taxes and balanced the budget. Beginning in 2000 we increased spending exponentially and cut taxes three times. The only thing that is a bit surprising here is that there are people who are surprised that an increase in spending and a decrease in taxes results in a deficit.
The blame here rests not with one party or any single person. George W, with the full acquiescence of the Democrats and support of the Republicans asked for and got passed what is arguably the most expensive entitlement program in our nation's history, and rather than increase taxes to cover it, cut taxes. He ran two wars via a technical loophole in the Balanced Budget Act (Pay-Go) by declaring both wars to be annual "emergencies" so as not to raise taxes. Vice President Cheney publicly stated that "Deficits don't matter." I am not passing on the Democrats either. They voted to approve the "emergency" war-spending without taxes to pay for it and overwhelmingly voted for the Prescription Drug Benefit Bill, again without as much as a gesture toward paying for it.
Whether or not those actions were correct or not is irrelevant. Unless we the people of the United States are willing to repeal about half of Medicare and chop the defense budget by about a third, we are indeed headed for a crisis, unless we are willing to pay for those items. The Democrats will not stand for a dramatic cut in Medicare and the
Republicans will not tolerate a huge defense cut. If we are agreed that we must have those things, then we must be willing to pay for them.
That is not political rhetoric; that is just numbers. As long as the conservatives denigrate the President of the United States rather than talk about ideas that can lead us out of this they are going to lose ground. When I joined the Republican Party, it was the party of new ideas and new ways of doing things. Now it seems to have become the party of "the good old days," run by “the good old boys" When the Social Security Committee was formed, Alan Greenspan was a solid, conservative Republican with new ideas and the courage to pursue them. The Republicans in the Congress were willing to increase taxes and push benefits out into the future as a courageous act of statesmanship. The perception of the young people I talk to today is that the Republican Party stands for two things, "NO." and "Bad-mouth the President." Those young people are not stupid.
They are quite aware that the Senate Budget Committee Chairman is not the President of the United States. Most of them can also quote Mitch McConnell when he very publicly stated that the purpose of the Republicans was not to govern or pass reasonable laws, but to make Barrack Obama a one-term President. Not only was that one of the most childish statements I have ever heard from a Senator, he even failed in that one objective.
Now the Ryan budget rests on the rather absurd foundation of "Repeal Obamacare." To those young people that means "Cancel my health insurance that my parents are paying for." To the ones that do their homework, it means "Dramatically increase the deficit" as the CBO and Federal Reserve have both clearly reported that what you call "Obamacare" serves to significantly reduce the deficit and is necessary if Medicare is to not fail in the next few years.
Come on Lynn! In just under four years, the Republicans have a good shot at retaking the government, but only if they come up with solutions and show they can work responsibly to run the government. I sure hope that Speaker Boehner's comments in that article are indicative of a change in direction. If the Republican Party suddenly starts being the Party of reason and responsibility, then there is hope. If it remains the party of character assassination and "No!" and "anti-(fill in the blank)," we may well wind up with a one-party system.
The headline in Google News this morning was about a Republican speaking at an official function who was calling for segregation, blacks only being able to vote in Africa, and women being forbidden to correct men in Republican meetings. It is not that he said those things; it is that his fellow Republicans did not condemn him for doing so that made the news.
Jeff
Jeff McClure is the co-host of "The Personal Wealth Coach with Jeff and Jake McClure", airing Saturdays from 10 AM to Noon on KTEM 1400. McClure is a good friend of Woolley's; the pair share a mutual admiration and respect for one another's opinions.
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