Commentators are talking about ‘the Fiscal Cliff’ on TV and radio. Critics, political wonks, even religious leaders are gasping at the prospect of the awesome changes that are hiding just under the brink if, like lemmings, we take the catastrophic leap. The fiscal cliff is an abject failure of grown but oblivious men and women to make long-term decisions that will benefit all citizens. The threats of the fiscal cliff go beyond the reasonable and break into the transcendental aura of billions and trillions of dollars that affect the lives of almost 315 million people.
The fiscal cliff is the default created by adults, some acting like spoiled children but parading around as legislators and other government officials. We are being led by a Chicago-style politician who is flexing his muscles and may be hoping that we take the plunge. The logic is simple, Bush gets blamed for the first term of failed policies and Boehner and his Republican accomplices are at fault for the second four years.
Who is going to win the skirmish of THE FISCAL CLIFF? We don’t know, but this we do know, no matter who wins, it will not be the citizens of this great nation. It is a battle of ideology and politics. The contentious squabble with awesome implications is so preposterous that hardworking citizens are being ignored. We are living with bluster, indignation and the uncertainty of ‘what taxes and regulations are coming next’?
The President says he is very interested in getting this critical issue settled but the facts belie his assertions. In his campaigning, Mr. Obama insisted that we need a ‘balanced approach.’ However, when Speaker Boehner suggested $800 billion of tax ‘loophole’ savings over 10 years, it was abruptly declined as faulty math. In July of 2011, the President mentioned that there were at least $1.2 trillion in savings by plugging tax loopholes. Politics trumps math. Boehner is asking for a summary of reduced spending and the President responds that we need to soak the rich (the job creators) now and ‘next year’ we’ll discuss spending cuts. Recently Mr. Obama balked at any conversations about raising the debt limit, saying that the budget and the debt limit are unrelated. That contradiction is so convoluted that it bares Mr. Obama’s true intentions; continued uncontrolled spending.
Why is all this negotiating taking such a toxic turn? Why does the President continue campaigning while causing delay by sending subordinates to talk with representatives and their subordinates? One reason may be that whatever additional debt is created will be someone else’s worry in the uncertain future. Another explanation may be that the President has already completed his last campaign; and former presidents usually become charismatic speakers with fees of millions of dollars per year. By that time he may not need a teleprompter.
Some critical questions arise from the vitriolic comments on both sides of the debate regarding the way forward. How will we deal with security (think terrorism, Iran, North Korea, China, Russia)? Will entitlement spending continue unabated? How will we deal with the national debt that is gyrating out of control? We will need to explain socialism to our progeny, the political philosophy that confiscates the earnings of the wealthy and turns it over to the government to spend on additional superfluous programs and create more debt.
In the past week, 15 former government leaders published a full-page appeal in the Wall Street Journal. Their suggestions implore politicians to agree on specific levels of revenue, spending and deficits that ‘eventually balance the budget.’ Their remarks are concluded with this challenge for courageous action; “It summons the truest form of patriotism – putting our country first.” Wow, what a novel concept!
