tangent4ronpaul
04-08-2011, 04:06 AM
Good points, gives praise to Ryan but neglects to mention Ron or Rand
http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/04/07/navarrette.debt.burden/
A poll by the Pew Research Center suggests the parties will share the blame almost evenly. Thirty-nine percent of people would blame Republicans. Thirty-six percent would blame Democrats. Sixteen percent would blame both parties.
I understand the focus on a possible shutdown. It is high drama. But there is plenty of drama in something that isn't talked about nearly enough -- the fact that the country's financial picture just doesn't pencil out and what it will mean to future generations if Congress and the White House don't put politics on hold and tackle a $14.2 trillion federal debt and the crushing cost of entitlements.
You want drama? The United States cannot pay its bills, and the longer we wait to do something about it, the deeper the hole will get and the more difficult it will be to climb out of it. We have a generational war brewing as baby boomers, generation Xers and millennials who are working get stuck with the tab for a federal debt that exceeds $14 trillion and have to plan for a future that might not include Medicare and Social Security, while current retirees are guaranteed benefits. And a financial calamity is almost certainly in the cards, as more and more baby boomers start retiring, unless a deficit-cutting deal is reached.
Against this backdrop, do you think most Americans are really worried that government will shut down for a few days, a week or even longer?
No. They're probably more worried that government will stay open and continue to spend money it doesn't have.
Or maybe, on second thought, most Americans don't care about that. Maybe our government is a reflection of our values.
In our own homes, and our own lives, too many of us buy things we don't need with money we don't have, and use credit we can't afford. We don't save anything for a rainy day or retirement. We worship at the altar of immediate gratification, and we kick difficult decisions down the road as far as possible.
There are two kinds of people in the world: those who recognize that they have to live within their means, and those who don't know what the heck that means. Many Americans fall into the second camp. So it's no wonder that many of us don't hold our elected officials accountable for their spending sprees and avoidance of debt. We see such behavior as normal.
Well, no more of that says Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin
[...]
That's what passes for leadership in Washington these days, not making progress on tough issues but making your team look good and the other look bad.
You see it in the talk of a government shutdown. Both sides claim not to want it to happen, but neither side is doing much to prevent it. Instead, all their energies are spent in trying to convince voters that they're not to blame for it.
Here's the real reason that professional politicians should do whatever they can to avoid a shutdown: After a few days of living without government, many Americans might just decide they don't really miss it and could live with a lot less of it.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/04/07/navarrette.debt.burden/
A poll by the Pew Research Center suggests the parties will share the blame almost evenly. Thirty-nine percent of people would blame Republicans. Thirty-six percent would blame Democrats. Sixteen percent would blame both parties.
I understand the focus on a possible shutdown. It is high drama. But there is plenty of drama in something that isn't talked about nearly enough -- the fact that the country's financial picture just doesn't pencil out and what it will mean to future generations if Congress and the White House don't put politics on hold and tackle a $14.2 trillion federal debt and the crushing cost of entitlements.
You want drama? The United States cannot pay its bills, and the longer we wait to do something about it, the deeper the hole will get and the more difficult it will be to climb out of it. We have a generational war brewing as baby boomers, generation Xers and millennials who are working get stuck with the tab for a federal debt that exceeds $14 trillion and have to plan for a future that might not include Medicare and Social Security, while current retirees are guaranteed benefits. And a financial calamity is almost certainly in the cards, as more and more baby boomers start retiring, unless a deficit-cutting deal is reached.
Against this backdrop, do you think most Americans are really worried that government will shut down for a few days, a week or even longer?
No. They're probably more worried that government will stay open and continue to spend money it doesn't have.
Or maybe, on second thought, most Americans don't care about that. Maybe our government is a reflection of our values.
In our own homes, and our own lives, too many of us buy things we don't need with money we don't have, and use credit we can't afford. We don't save anything for a rainy day or retirement. We worship at the altar of immediate gratification, and we kick difficult decisions down the road as far as possible.
There are two kinds of people in the world: those who recognize that they have to live within their means, and those who don't know what the heck that means. Many Americans fall into the second camp. So it's no wonder that many of us don't hold our elected officials accountable for their spending sprees and avoidance of debt. We see such behavior as normal.
Well, no more of that says Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin
[...]
That's what passes for leadership in Washington these days, not making progress on tough issues but making your team look good and the other look bad.
You see it in the talk of a government shutdown. Both sides claim not to want it to happen, but neither side is doing much to prevent it. Instead, all their energies are spent in trying to convince voters that they're not to blame for it.
Here's the real reason that professional politicians should do whatever they can to avoid a shutdown: After a few days of living without government, many Americans might just decide they don't really miss it and could live with a lot less of it.