Dear Members of Congress,
Elections are around the corner and I am sure your strategists and campaign managers are spending endless hours to determine how to make you look at your best when you go back to your districts and address the electorate. Of course, with an approval rating at the lowest since anyone can remember, and a political landscape that is paved with the outcry of the many chanting “enough is enough” that is no easy task. During the not so distant future, I expect to read and hear a select number of impressive buzzwords that are designed to make voters believe that they absolutely have to side with you, and send you back to Washington. It seems that one favorite will be the call for “Fiscal Discipline”. The Republicans will try to hijack the call for “Fiscal Discipline” based on the recent events some people call “Healthcare Reform”. The latter is subject to an entire different discussion, one I will offer at a later time. For the moment, let’s focus on the “Fiscal Discipline” thing. Yes of course, I am sure most tax payers agree with a strategy that focuses on "Fiscal Discipline". However, the reason why most voters are equally frustrated with Democrats and Republicans alike is because at the one hand, Democrats have completely abandoned any form of capital rule and have become oblivious to what money, cost and spending means in the context of our fiscal envelope. Republicans failed the American people when they missed their chance to “practice” fiscal discipline when they controlled Congress and the Presidency. Are you old enough to remember the “Contract with America” (1994 election). Where are all the promises? Hearing many Republican members of Congress speak about "fiscal discipline" seems, to say the least, disingenuous considering the fact that U.S. federal spending increased during the Bush/Republican governance by almost 29% (about 20% in real dollars). Non-defense discretionary growth alone was almost 36% (or app. 25% in real dollars). This represented the highest increase in federal spending since Richard Nixon and Lyndon Johnson, not considering the expenditure for the Iraq/Afghanistan war.
Of course our current President is taking spending to an unprecedented and extreme level that will take decades to undo if it will be possible at all. So the term Fiscal Discipline and political reality are on a clear collision course. I wonder if there are any smart strategists that try to figure out why approval ratings of our current Congress has been hovering around a painful 20% (depending which pole you use the range is between 14% and 28%). The problem is that both parties have lost much of their credibility and it will take a long time before Congress will gain the lost trust back.
Even if (what I expect) the upcoming elections will give the Republican Party a strong boost I am not sure that a Republican leadership with more of the same will instill the necessary level of confidence among voters to put their "long-term" trust into the Republican Party again.
What is needed is a voluntary "recycling" program that replaces the congressional leadership with people we can all believe in (again). A new and fresh set of politicians who are willing to stimulate and carry a meaningful discussion of common sense solutions, such as stop fighting smoking habits but exclude smoke related illnesses from health care coverage, let's quit talking about abortion as a political platform, let each woman make her own choice, but exclude voluntary abortions from health care coverage (except for medically indicated procedures), legalize the use of drugs for adults, but exclude consequential illnesses from health care coverage. I am not a drug user, never have been, but I don't understand why we help drug pushers and dealers keep their prices high, by pretending we are prosecuting them, a war that sounds tough but one we will never win. We should re-direct our resources to more meaningful law enforcement activities. Other countries have de-criminalized drug use and are doing perfectly fine; in fact drug related crime has obviously substantially declined. There are so many areas in dire need of ground-up reform.
Everyone is craving to see or hear some refreshing novel approach to countless problems we have been listening to since decades. Fiscal discipline is just one of them. People have become desensitized to the growing challenges of our modern times. We need help soon.
Fiscal Discipline = cutting cost = relinquishing power strongholds of our central government ! = Political Power Detox ... Yeah right, I am sure our leaders will get right on this.
Of course our current President is taking spending to an unprecedented and extreme level that will take decades to undo if it will be possible at all. So the term Fiscal Discipline and political reality are on a clear collision course. I wonder if there are any smart strategists that try to figure out why approval ratings of our current Congress has been hovering around a painful 20% (depending which pole you use the range is between 14% and 28%). The problem is that both parties have lost much of their credibility and it will take a long time before Congress will gain the lost trust back.
Even if (what I expect) the upcoming elections will give the Republican Party a strong boost I am not sure that a Republican leadership with more of the same will instill the necessary level of confidence among voters to put their "long-term" trust into the Republican Party again.
What is needed is a voluntary "recycling" program that replaces the congressional leadership with people we can all believe in (again). A new and fresh set of politicians who are willing to stimulate and carry a meaningful discussion of common sense solutions, such as stop fighting smoking habits but exclude smoke related illnesses from health care coverage, let's quit talking about abortion as a political platform, let each woman make her own choice, but exclude voluntary abortions from health care coverage (except for medically indicated procedures), legalize the use of drugs for adults, but exclude consequential illnesses from health care coverage. I am not a drug user, never have been, but I don't understand why we help drug pushers and dealers keep their prices high, by pretending we are prosecuting them, a war that sounds tough but one we will never win. We should re-direct our resources to more meaningful law enforcement activities. Other countries have de-criminalized drug use and are doing perfectly fine; in fact drug related crime has obviously substantially declined. There are so many areas in dire need of ground-up reform.
Everyone is craving to see or hear some refreshing novel approach to countless problems we have been listening to since decades. Fiscal discipline is just one of them. People have become desensitized to the growing challenges of our modern times. We need help soon.
