In the political mess that unfolded in
Washington, D.C. over the past few weeks
regarding deficit reduction and debt ceiling, all
the American public got to witness was some
really mangy dogs.
In a dog and pony show, you at least get to see
a pony.
In the political mess that unfolded in
Washington, D.C. over the past few weeks
regarding deficit reduction and debt ceiling, all
the American public got to witness was some
really mangy dogs.
If it is true that in compromise nobody walks
away from the table happy, then this has been
compromise most foul. The Republicans are not
happy, the Tea Party members are not happy, the
progressives are not happy and the Democrats
are not happy.
In announcing the “compromise,” President
Barack Obama did not say he was happy, but he
did profess to feeling relieved that the nation
would avert the ignominy of failing its fiduciary
duty and telling the world that the U.S. would
not pay its bills. Obama did not get anything he
wanted out of the deal, except a temporary hike
of the debt limit. He did not get any revenue
enhancement, he did not save Social Security
and Medicare from the budget knife. He did notconvince
his party that cuts in social programs
that help the poor and middle class would be
avoided.
So, now all of the dogs are yelping, complaining
that there is nothing good in this compromise.
But the real victims in this paroxysm of posturing
have been the American people. We
watched our government get hijacked by a gang
of zealots who put their principles above the
people. We saw a conversation about cutting
spending trump every other conversation, even
the recession and job creation and defaulting on
our debt obligations. We saw naked and unrepentant
hatred for the nation’s first Black president
drive all decision-making, to the point that
nothing else mattered.
What this compromise does is kick the can
down the road when it comes to the debt ceiling.
There is no real spending plan, no budget and no
expectation that any further compromise will
not be tied to some other Tea Party demand for
shrinking the government. The bi-partisan committee
that will decide on any further budget
action will not be bipartisan at all. It will be
driven by those Tea Party folks who are strangling
the Republican Party and for whom revenue
increases are anathema. Their idea of compromise
is total surrender, and they have shown
that they will not be happy with anything less.
The problem with the compromise that
President Obama signed Tuesday afternoon, is
that the damage to the nation’s financial health
has already been done. The world markets have
already slumped and the bond rating agencies
are poised to downgrade our credit status. That
will affect every American who is seeking a
mortgage, or holds a credit card or has a 401K.
Higher interest costs will affect businesses that
are trying to expand, or trying to keep their
heads above water. It could mean fewer jobs
created and fewer jobs retained. It could mean
that the estimated 16.2 percent unemployment
rate for Black people could creep upward.
That this kind of financial calamity was
risked to placate the howling of Tea Party mutts
is unconscionable. That the president backed up
so far on this issue that he started bumping into
himself is even worse. At a time when we needed
a bulldog at the negotiating table, the
Democrats were toothless and the Republicans
were diseased.
Copyright 2011 Chicago Defender
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