Tea Party Holds its Ground, for Better or Worse

Liz | 07/27 at 06:26 AM

On a gorgeous summer morning, it is hard to stay angry about the debt ceiling debate – except that it is so extremely dangerous and important. Last night O’Reilly showed clips of John Stossel interviewing the “man in the street” about the debt debate; sadly, many had no idea what it was all about. Some didn’t even know we had a debt ceiling! This appalls and scares me; these people will probably turn out to vote in the 2012 election completely ignorant of the threat that our towering national debt represents. They will not understand that foreigners now control nearly half of our obligations, or that China alone holds $1.1 trillion in U.S. debt. They do not know how our excess spending and debt promise ever-rising interest costs that in just a few years will cost more than Medicare or defense. They are unaware that if we face another recession, there are no arrows left in the government quiver. With spending now at roughly 25% of GDP, our ability to engage in deficit spending to try to stabilize an economy in free-fall would be nonexistent.  

The Tea Party is taking a lot of heat for refusing to bend. I admire them, while at the same time hoping against hope that a deal is struck. They are fighting compromise because agreements in the past to cut spending have almost always been abandoned the moment the public’s attention wanders. In 1990 George H.W. Bush agreed to raise the debt ceiling; Democrats promised to cut spending $2 for every $1 in higher taxes. The tax increase went through – the spending cuts never materialized. That’s business as usual in Washington; it’s time someone put an end to it. That’s what the Tea Party is attempting to do.

Let us hope that our leaders can sort through this mess, can reach a deal on raising the ceiling, but that also serious steps are taken to rein in our spending. Let us also hope that this debate is central to the 2012 election; nothing could be more important.

Comments

obama obamacare health care wall street congress indiana economics ceo fox news jimmy carter labor unions bets imf gordon gekko rush limbaugh nobel peace prize taxpayers goldman sachs budget deficit axelrod kennedy afghanistan greed maoist wal-mart aig census capitalism corporate rahm emanual