Prioritizing and Governing

Prioritizing is the fundemental task of leadership and governing. The Democrats are attempting a watered down version of FDR's New Deal and the Republicans and Tea Party are upset about deficit spending. The Republicans are attempting to block any legislation in which funding is not laid out, or in other words, Pay as you Go. Or more aptly put, the conservatives are calling for no legislation to be written which is not paid for. Unless you are talking about the tax cuts from the Bush era, which are about to expire.

"You should never raise taxes in order to cut taxes," Republican Senator Jon Kyl said. "Surely Congress has the authority -- and it would be right -- if we decide we want to cut taxes to spur the economy, not to have to raise taxes in order to offset those costs. You do need to offset the cost of increased spending. And that’s what Republicans object to. But you should never have to offset the cost of a deliberate decision to reduce tax rates on Americans."

With all due respect to Senator Kyl, but did you honestly say that you should never have to offset the cost of a deliberate decision to reduce taxes? Are you suggesting that programs should not be cut to offset the $678 billion of taxes not collected? With all due respect to Senator Kyl and other Republican and Tea Party representatives, but which is it that you want? Do you want to reduce the deficit or have non-offset tax breaks? You can't have it both ways, for one contradicts the other.

It has been argued lately that we are living in a "Welfare State" who is "redistributing the wealth." In light of this new discussion over offsetting the tax cuts, I can not deny this truth. We do live in a "Welfare State, redistributing the wealth" to the wealthy. Society is complacent to the struggles of others, until it effects them directly. And now we are beginning to scratch the surface of the division among our economic classes. We are in a dire time, of that everyone is in agreement. To quote former President Franklin D. Roosevelt, "The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little."

-Silence Dogood