Bend over America, here it comes! Apparently the US Senate decided to spend time this week creating four separate Republican budget plans only to turn around and vote them all down along with President Obama’s. Rest assured this entire show was for the benefit of our CSPAN viewing audience. Spending levels for 2013 are already set and passed into law. What the 2013 funding neglects to address though are social security and Medicare. You know, the programs we are required by law to pay into for most of our lives but that congressmen discuss as burdens weighing down our government that should be shaved away.
The reality is that no one has looked at a major scale back of government as a solution for our crippling debt. The framework for debt discussion seems to center around either taxing citizens or cutting essential benefit programs. The reality is that we have a gangling beast of a bureaucracy that would benefit from some weight watchers but no elected official has the guts to make that a mantra, gather colleagues, and build consensus on the matter. I am a realist. I understand it takes more then one. It must also be difficult to tackle something like this when you have a short period of time to make your mark before going back into campaign mode, but we have two political parties who are holding caucus with their party faithful at all levels of government and telling them to stick it to us, keep fighting, and cause gridlock. Well they may not be using those words, but neither party is motivated about helping our country as they are about sticking it to the other party.
All it takes is listening to congressmen and women speak on CSPAN’s American morning a few days in a row to realize that they have no thoughts or motivations of their own. I can sit with my party message and talking points guide and easily guess what each will say. If the message of the political parties would change wouldn’t politics change? I think it absolutely would. This is not to suggest that there are not real differences that will cause robust debate. We should expect that. However, the debate we see them engaging in is a circus designed to keep us fighting over the menu while congress cooks the food how they want it.
–>
