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Up until now, I've been patient with the politicians and their debt ceiling debate. I've viewed it as typical political jockeying. Political games. A little fun game of chicken.
But tonight I crossed the tipping point. I was startled when I realized that inside of my gut there was a growing sensation that I could no longer ignore -- a tangible surge of anger. I have only rarely felt anger about our politics. But this is it. I feel it. And it is genuine, justified, and if not already, a sentiment that the rest of the nation must be feeling.
Imagine if this were a disagreement between you and your wife over your family's finances and terrible consequences would come upon your family -- losing your house, for example, on August 2 -- absent a solution that is within your grasp. Would you bicker with your wife until July 28, with no real end in sight?
But we're not talking about losing a home. We're talking about the good faith and credit of the American people. "WE THE PEOPLE" are the government of the United States. "We the people" formed this political union called the United States. And we the people are the guarantors of that government's debt.
And I'm not even talking about the disastrous debt we're piling up and the utter failure to make any meaningful progress on addressing it. I'm just talking about meeting the debt obligations that are upon us now.
And the solutions put forward by our representatives? A mere cut in the growth of discretionary spending -- that's all the Republican and Democratic plans are: keep it at the current baseline. So we're past the point of making any meaningful dent in our crushing and impossible debt burden. We're just trying to find a way to raise the debt ceiling with an equal measure of cuts in spending growth (forget about revenue increases) so we can pay our debts now.
I'm angry at all parties. I'm angry at Obama for not getting behind the debt commission's proposal's when they came out many months ago. I'm angry at him for leading from behind, instead of leading from the front as a president should on the gravest issue facing our nation.
My anger burns white hot for the Republicans who do not realize they've won in this little skirmish, but have utterly lost the war -- the war of opportunity to be gained, but is now lost. Of wanting it all, and so getting nothing.
I'm angry that health care and social security are squeezing out education, infrastructure, environtmental protection, and a million other worthy government endevours. After health care spending, social security, and debt interest payments, there is NOTHING left -- it's all deficit spending. And those are only going to grow. There is literally nothing left. In fact, we can't even meet our health care, social security, and interest payments without major deficit spending. The numbers and figures are startling in their clarity. I want there to be less clarity, more room for disbelief. But there's no room for ignorance.
I'm angry we made promises we can't keep, and lack the political institutions to re-align our commitments with our means.
I'm angry at the politics of ineptitude.
And I'm not so cynical to believe we have the politics we deserve. Americans -- good, hard-working people trying to raise their families with love and security -- deserve so much better.
There will be some debt deal reached. But it will not be the debt deal we need. It will not be the debt deal we deserve. And it will be a debt deal arriving long past the date when responsibility, maturity, and seriousness expired.
[/End Rant]
But tonight I crossed the tipping point. I was startled when I realized that inside of my gut there was a growing sensation that I could no longer ignore -- a tangible surge of anger. I have only rarely felt anger about our politics. But this is it. I feel it. And it is genuine, justified, and if not already, a sentiment that the rest of the nation must be feeling.
Imagine if this were a disagreement between you and your wife over your family's finances and terrible consequences would come upon your family -- losing your house, for example, on August 2 -- absent a solution that is within your grasp. Would you bicker with your wife until July 28, with no real end in sight?
But we're not talking about losing a home. We're talking about the good faith and credit of the American people. "WE THE PEOPLE" are the government of the United States. "We the people" formed this political union called the United States. And we the people are the guarantors of that government's debt.
And I'm not even talking about the disastrous debt we're piling up and the utter failure to make any meaningful progress on addressing it. I'm just talking about meeting the debt obligations that are upon us now.
And the solutions put forward by our representatives? A mere cut in the growth of discretionary spending -- that's all the Republican and Democratic plans are: keep it at the current baseline. So we're past the point of making any meaningful dent in our crushing and impossible debt burden. We're just trying to find a way to raise the debt ceiling with an equal measure of cuts in spending growth (forget about revenue increases) so we can pay our debts now.
I'm angry at all parties. I'm angry at Obama for not getting behind the debt commission's proposal's when they came out many months ago. I'm angry at him for leading from behind, instead of leading from the front as a president should on the gravest issue facing our nation.
My anger burns white hot for the Republicans who do not realize they've won in this little skirmish, but have utterly lost the war -- the war of opportunity to be gained, but is now lost. Of wanting it all, and so getting nothing.
I'm angry that health care and social security are squeezing out education, infrastructure, environtmental protection, and a million other worthy government endevours. After health care spending, social security, and debt interest payments, there is NOTHING left -- it's all deficit spending. And those are only going to grow. There is literally nothing left. In fact, we can't even meet our health care, social security, and interest payments without major deficit spending. The numbers and figures are startling in their clarity. I want there to be less clarity, more room for disbelief. But there's no room for ignorance.
I'm angry we made promises we can't keep, and lack the political institutions to re-align our commitments with our means.
I'm angry at the politics of ineptitude.
And I'm not so cynical to believe we have the politics we deserve. Americans -- good, hard-working people trying to raise their families with love and security -- deserve so much better.
There will be some debt deal reached. But it will not be the debt deal we need. It will not be the debt deal we deserve. And it will be a debt deal arriving long past the date when responsibility, maturity, and seriousness expired.
[/End Rant]
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