The major storm has passed, and we're picking up the pieces.
Congress passed the debt ceiling increase, contingent on many budget cuts. Both Republicans and Democrats are spinning their respective positions, and it's time for vacations.
It is yet to be seen whether or not I will have a job past November, when the DOD contract I am on runs out. I'm reasonably confident I'll either be refunded or find something else. But I am concerned about many Americans who have been made more vulnerable in the past few months.
Unemployment is very high. Layoffs have been slowing down (except for companies like Merck, who laid off 15,000), but the jobs have not been coming back. I do not see any slowing of foreclosure rates.
Yet the safety nets are being torn by those who believe we cannot afford them. As I've stated in an earlier post - what we do with our "pie" of money is totally our choice. Pure capitalism - everyone fending for themselves with little government intervention - is one of the choices. Whatever is chosen, some people gain and some people lose.
The reason some people lose is not necessarily because they don't try or know how to win. Think of a child brought up in a community of lower-income people and who gets a substandard education. Should we blame this child for being behind when he/she reaches adulthood? Let's consider our values about this.
So how do we create our pie, and how do we divide it up? I don't have the exact answer, but I definitely would like to see as large a pie as possible divided in an "equitable" (not "evenly") way. Here's where tough choices come in since you don't want to shrink the pie or cause the worst-off to have the smaller slices.
The budget deal (along with other policy decisions in the past year) is a "tradeoff" that will, unfortunately, impact those who can least afford it the most. What will be hit? Schools, housing, and the safety nets. What won't be hit? taxes on those who have high-paying jobs or investments.
It's clear how the tradeoff works in this case. And believe me, we really did have choices.
So we got worried about our debt. We focused less on unemployment. Funny, because interest rates did not go up. In fact, I'll be refinancing this week at almost an all-time low. The housing market doesn't suck because of government debt. It sucks because there was a bubble that burst (for reasons pointed out very well in the movie "Inside Job").
This Congress had choices. The Republicans had choices. The Democrats had choices. The President had choices.
I have come to the conclusion that it is time for another political party to take shape. It needs to be focused on the "center", acknowledging that everyone has responsibilities towards both themselves and others. I'm only beginning to think about who would lead this, but the name Colin Powell comes to mind. (Others are people like Bob Kerrey and Warren Rudman). Whoever it is must be on the bully pulpit at all times, clearly showing us direction.
On another subject: Congress wants a debt-elimination commission. Who to head it better than Bill Clinton? (sorry, Clinton haters, he IS the best man for the job)
More to come. Thanks for reading.
