Wednesday, January 20, 2010

How Do We Sort Out Our Political Mess?

Politics - I am so sick of the mess it has created over the past 20 years! I thought that after the elections things might gradually settle in to the regular sniping that the parties often do until mid-term elections, but instead it has turned into an attack fest since then. It has split mostly down party lines where one side is trying to get the upper hand politically, and that usually means no help for the problems that face the American people.

Michigan Radio's political analyst, Jack Lessenberry in my opinion said it best in one of his radio essays recently. ("Two Plus Two Makes Four.")

...nobody is saying what they should be saying, which is this: "Hello, people, listen up:

"We don't have any money, largely because so many people are out of work. If you want to continue getting the benefits that the state has been providing, like parks and roads and good schools and prisons to lock up the bad guys, guess what:

"You are going to have to pay for it! You want this stuff, your taxes are going to go up, by this much, right now."

I would respect any lawmaker with the guts to say that. On the other hand, Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop's priority is not raising taxes. Matter of fact, he would like to lower them.

Okay, fine, so tell us right now how you come up with three billion in cuts. If he did that, I would respect him, too.

It is sad that we have come to a point that we cannot, or choose to not to understand that in order to keep that which we need (health care, funding for a local project, moneys for schools) we will have to raise taxes. If prices go up as they continually do, they do so across the board - both in costs and the taxes that must cover those rising costs.

I would hope that our government would be careful with our money, but we all understand that earmarks and other like minded spending are what we pay for when we have someone try to represent differing points of view on spending (remember that bridge to no where?). But if we think we would be punishing Congress to make them actually learn to tighten the belt when it comes to spending we're really only punishing ourselves.

It doesn't matter either that they are from one party or the other because there is no monitoring system in place to make sure they are carefull with the money. Today, with all our problems of terror and financial woes, I wish there was a statesman or two to look out for all our interests and that could understood there are going to need to be compromises made for the greater good.
Are there any such self-sacrificing men or women out there willing to keep the people's interest at the heart of their greater plan of service? "Hello?" If you are out there... "Come out come out where ever you are!!"

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