07-24-2011
Permalink
Listen Up!
|
Subject: An Open Letter to All Republican Members of Congress
Concerning the Debt Ceiling Cap
I have been watching the circus playing itself out in Washington D.C.
over the past month concerning the fight to raise the federal debt
ceiling and, as has been said many times before, just like observing
sausage-making, it is a truly disgusting sight. This is my no-nonsense
letter to all Republicans in the House and Senate letting them know
what I expect of them.
Dear Republican Members of Congress:
As time draws ever closer to the August 2nd deadline for the
debt ceiling debate, pressure is increasing from many quarters
in and attempt to force you to back down from your principled
position and accept some form of compromise.
Statist-oriented pundits, including the very foolish
E.J.
Dionne, suggest yet again that all members of the Tea Party
movement are unhinged, and that listening to their demands is
politically unwise. Well, of course this is what you would
expect them to say, since the Tea Party stands in opposition to
everything that they advocate:
- A further undermining of the U.S. Constitution
- Ever increasing government power and control
- Nationalization of business and industry
- Centralized economic planning
- Further entrenchment of the welfare state
- Fiscal irresponsibility
- Wealth redistribution
- The abrogation of every citizens' individual rights
If you were to consider a compromise with these statists,
in just which of the above areas are you willing to make
concessions on behalf of the American people? As Ayn Rand so
eloquently put it:
"In any compromise between food and poison, it is only
death that can win.
In any compromise between good and evil, it is only evil
that can profit."
Identify that which you know to be the good, and defend it
with every fiber of your being.
Then there are the various proposals by Paul Ryan,
John Boehner, Barack Obama,
The Gang of Six,
and on and on, which attempt to trade off an immediate $2.5
trillion increase in the debt ceiling in exchange for some
amount — between $2 and $8 trillion — of spending
cuts that extend out anywhere from ten to forty years into the
future. Let's be serious! No one is fooled by these absurd
and totally unrealistic scenarios. Each of these proposals is
a classic case of the Big Lie!
- We all know that any future Congress could overturn
these spending cuts at any time — and history
has shown that they more than likely would eventually
do so.
- These are not real cuts in relation to today's spending,
but cuts against proposed future budgets that already
include huge spending increases. While these proposals
might slow those increases, they make no actual cuts,
allowing future budgets to continue to grow.
- What practical good is a $6 trillion spending reduction
spread over ten years? That amounts, on average, to
$600 billion in cuts per year which, when offset
against deficits well in excess of $1.6 trillion, still
leave us with an annual deficit around $1 trillion.
- These proposals do nothing to balance the budget, let
alone effect real reductions in federal spending.
Given these facts, supporting any of these budget proposals is
just another exercise in punting on the responsibility that
Congress has for dealing honestly and realistically with our
fiscal situation. Passing the buck forward only means that in
two more years we will find ourselves in a hole that has grown
from $14.5 trillion to $17 trillion, and will still be racking
up huge deficits that require yet another increase in the debt
ceiling. Exactly what level of debt do you believe is enough?
There is another form of pressure that the President is
attempting to apply in an effort to force your hand. By
sending a message
to the markets that disaster looms on the horizon, he is
trying to create a stock market panic that will influence
people, including those of you in Congress, to respond
irrationally to fear and make foolish choices, similar to what
occurred in 2008.
The President is also working to rattle the American people by
telling them that if Republicans refuse to raise the debt
ceiling, he may not be able to cover the national debt
or send the elderly their social security checks. But notice
the nature of his threat. If he is forced to make a hard
choice as to where to allocate limited dollars, his proposal
is to continue funding organizations such as NPR, the
Corporation for National and Community Service, and so on,
instead of issuing Social Security checks? He proposes to
continue paying for all of the welfare programs, doling out
money to people who have never contributed a dime to the
system, while denying payments to those who have financially
back our country, or to people who have spent a lifetime paying
their hard earned cash into this so-called retirement program!
It's a no-brainer. To counter this empty threat, all you need
to do is loudly and publicly call him on this and the American
public will see that this wannabe Emperor has no clothes
— or more precisely, no principles at all.
These tactics make Obama one of, if not the most craven
Presidents in our history, and you must not allow them to
stand. Identify his actions for what they are, report them
to the American people, and refuse to be coerced by these
tactics.
And then we have the shameful and unconstitutional proposal by
Mitch
McConnell. In a ploy that is all political theater with
absolutely no benefits for the country, he suggests that
Congress should relinquish its constitutional responsibility
to determine and control federal spending and appropriations,
and simply turn that power over to the executive branch,
allowing the President to unilaterally raise the debt ceiling
at his discretion. And this is being done so that Mitch and
his fellow traitors who support this idea can be relieved of
the necessity of committing to a position of either raising
or not raising the debt ceiling. Cowards! Do not abase
yourself by even considering supporting this.
So, what should you do regarding the debt ceiling
and the budget? It's simple. Start representing the wishes of
the American people who sent you back to Washington in 2010
with a very clear message. Let me spell it out.
- We do not want the debt ceiling raised at all.
Period. No compromises. No trade-offs. Raising the
ceiling simply provides more funds for more spending,
which is exactly the problem needing to be fixed.
Refusing to raise the debt ceiling is a positive step
in that direction.
- Do not raise taxes. Just as with the debt, taxes are
another source of revenue for the government and those
dollars will support additional spending. The
money spigot must be shut off.
- Federal revenue for 2011 is $2.57 trillion, which, in
equivalent adjusted dollars, is greater than the entire
outlay for 2002. By simply scaling the size and scope
of government back to 2002 levels, the budget would
be immediately balanced with no need for additional
taxes or debt financing.
- Based upon the preceding facts, what the American
public expects and demands is for you to cut spending
immediately and deeply. The simplest approach would
be to immediately impose a spending cap for 2012
equal to current revenues of $2.57 trillion and then
do one of the following:
- Make an across the board cut to every federal
program. (The easy way out.)
- Simply unwind government back to the 2002
configuration, eliminating all programs that
have been added since then, and scaling the
others back to their previous level.
- Examine the budget carefully and negotiate
which departments and programs should be
eliminated, which ones should be reduced, and
which should remain at current funding levels.
- What is clear from the past forty years is that
so long as there is an open source of funding, Congress
will continue to devise new ways to spend. And until
a fixed dollar limit is rigidly imposed, Congress
will refuse to examine and prioritize its spending.
Time is up, and you and your fellow Republicans must finally
stop playing at the childish game of politics, man-up, and do
the adult thing. It is time to stop this ship of state and
make an about face. The budget must be balance not in ten,
twenty or forty years, but right NOW, in the upcoming
2012 fiscal year. You must cut over $1.5 trillion from next
year's budget. Will it be hard? Of course. But it's not
going to get any easier tomorrow, next year or after the
2012 election. It has to be done immediately.
So what is your answer? Are you stepping up to the plate and
swinging for a home run, or are you going to take the coward's
way out and add one more bunt to a lifetime of bunting? Are
you finally going to be the hero, or end your career as the
goat? This is the moment of truth. No one can guarantee what
the political fallout will ultimately be from this, but there
is a huge and growing contingent all across America that will
stand firmly behind you if you choose to do the proper thing
and actually lead the Republicans in a serious charge into the
battle to save this country from ruin.
We are all watching, so forget the words and simply give us
your answer through your actions.
Sincerely,
C. Jeffery Small
|
|
