Ignore the "US government is spending too much" hype

Involved voters have reason to ignore Senator Mich McConnell, Alan Simpson and Ersine Bowles when they say the real problem is spending.

Check out these recent blog posts in which Kevin Drum at Mother Jones and Samuel Knight at the Washington Monthly's Political Animal expose them for the ideologues they are.

Drum provides the data and states:

The facts are pretty clear. Spending isn't our big problem. The recession spike of 2008 aside, it's about the same as it was 30 years ago. But instead of paying for that spending, we've repeatedly cut taxes, which are now at their lowest level in half a century. Tax revenue will go up as the economy improves, but even five years from now it will still be lower than it was when Reagan took office. 

So what's our real problem? That's simple: America is getting older and healthcare costs are rising. That means we'll need to spend more money in the future on Social Security and Medicare. There's simply no way around that unless we're willing to immiserate our elderly, and that's not going to happen.

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2013/01/we-dont-have-spending-problem-we-have-aging-problem

According to Knight:

Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles - co-founders of the corporate lobby Campaign to Fix the Debt ... argue that the national debt is a reason to gut the welfare state. ... 

But they and their disciples couldn’t be more wrong. The U.S. government has no “spending problem” from a macroeconomist’s point of view. Of course, the country can’t indefinitely continue to borrow more than it earns, but the idea that we must somehow tackle debt by cutting spending — and do it right now — is voodoo economics of the highest order.

For spending to be an immediate problem, it would have to be problematic.
...
Yet interest rates are rock bottom and aren’t expected to rise anytime soon, and demand for U.S. Treasury bonds remains high.

Thus, government spending appears to be having no averse effect on financial markets, which, according to Treasury yields, actually seem to think that lending the U.S. government money is a wise idea. The debt “crisis” is only caused by a “spending problem” when one considers government spending to be an issue from an ideological standpoint.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2013_01/simpson_and_bowles_spending_pr042221.php

Tell your friends and family how bogus the "spending problem/debt crisis" talk is.  Contact your US Senator and Representative.   Tell them that increasing revenue (especially through taxes on the super-rich) needs to continue to be on the table.  And back up the President when he goes to bat for the middle class and those who are in danger of falling out of it.

Eternal Vigilance

Here in Michigan there is a lame duck legislative session during which Republicans will try to push their Tea Party-style agenda while the five incumbents defeated by Democrats are still around.

Despite clear messages to the contrary from the majority of Michigan voters, the Republicans will go ahead with plans for legislation:

• Undermining workers' rights
• Instituting voucher-style "reform" of public schools
• Cutting taxes even further for corporate special interests

I guess they're hoping we're all busy preparing for the holidays and won't notice what they're up to.  But, being an Involved Voter means being committed to eternal vigilance.  So, let your State Representative and Senator know you're watching and will remember what they do when the next election comes around.

Republicans at the national level haven't gotten the messages of the November 6 election yet either.  They're still resisting tax rate increases on the wealthy - protecting them at the expense of everyone else and claiming they are all "job creators."  A recent opinion piece by self-made billionaire, Warren Buffett, pokes holes in their arguments and makes the case for a fairer tax structure.  See the article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/26/opinion/buffett-a-minimum-tax-for-the-wealthy.html?ref=opinion and then tell your Representative what you want him or her to do.

Campaigning for a Balanced Solution to the "Fiscal Cliff" Problem Begins Now

OK Involved Voters, we've had our day of rest.  Time to lobby the House of Representatives with its Republican majority for a balanced solution to the "fiscal cliff" problem.

Here's what I sent to my Michigan 7th District Representative via his web site:

Dear Representative Walberg:  I am hopeful that the message you are taking away from the results of Tuesday's election is that the majority of Americans want Congress to work with the President to avoid the "fiscal cliff".  So, please, tear up your Grover Norquist "no taxes ever" pledge and see that the richest among us are finally asked to pay their fair share of taxes.  Favoring millionaires at the expense of education, R&D, rebuilding infrastructure, and public safety makes NO sense.  Please read and believe the report of the Congressional Research Service which shows that continuing tax breaks for the rich is NOT a path to creating jobs in the US.

Please add your voice to the call for fact-based compromise.  Call, email or write - today - before spin takes it toll and delusion sets in again in the Republican House.