The House discussion on debt reduction \/ budget issues made Rep. Neal compelled to state chronologically how we got into this fiscal mess.<\/p>\n
It is factual in relating the events and heavily footnoted.\u00a0 Neal obviously has a clear memory of events, having been in Congress throughout this nearly 20 year period.<\/p>\n
My first comment is, \u201cThere must be a more effective way to get the voter to understand this mess than a 3 page chronology.\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019m pretty sure Neal intends the activists in his district to read and remember this and communicate it to voters.\u00a0 I\u2019m also sure he knows we have to simplify it and use parts of it to apply to individual voters who have a partial and therefore likely incorrect view of these events.<\/p>\n
My last comment is, \u201cThis is an example of the bind we Democrats are always in \u2013 trying to combat bumper sticker thinking with mind numbing facts rather than a bumper sticker of our own backed by a complete grasp of the facts when asked.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those of us who follow these things pretty closely fear not having an answer to the following facts:<\/p>\n
a.\u00a0 Clinton and Congress reduced the top tax bracket percentages.<\/p>\n
b.\u00a0 Clinton pushed for and got a reform of welfare that limited the time benefits could be received, thereby pushing people to seek work seriously.\u00a0 This may have been in response to Reagan\u2019s \u2018Welfare Queen\u2019 harangue that did resonate strongly with voters.<\/p>\n
c.\u00a0 Clinton was fortunate in that the economy grew strongly during his tenure.\u00a0 There\u2019s little evidence than any single or group of his initiatives caused this \u2013 it was probably the beginning of the \u2018tech bubble\u2019 that did it.<\/p>\n
Regarding \u2013<\/p>\n
\u201ca.\u201d \u2013 The question a voter may have is how much cutting taxes had to do with the recovery and the debt pay-down?\u00a0 Republicans like to point out Clinton\u2019s position on tax cuts.<\/p>\n
\u201cb.\u201d \u2013 On the surface this seems to help the argument that government does not need to help the poor so much.\u00a0 Stabilizing the debt is more important<\/p>\n
\u201cc.\u201d \u2013 Democrats need to press the reality into voter\u2019s minds that there is very little a president can do about private sector jobs, the economy, and what companies do.\u00a0 The only big tools lie within Congress and those are largely ones that allow the government to create infrastructure repair jobs to temporarily alleviate unemployment caused by the collapse of the construction industry (brought on this time by the mortgage mess).<\/p>\n
So, how do we make bumper sticker comments?\u00a0 \u2018a\u2019- tax cuts only during downswings. \u2018b\u2019-help the poor when nobody else will\u00a0 \u2018c\u2019 \u2013 Congress ! it\u2019s the economy, stupid<\/p>\n
Jay G<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The House discussion on debt reduction \/ budget issues made Rep. Neal compelled to state chronologically how we got into this fiscal mess. It is factual in relating the events and heavily footnoted.\u00a0 Neal obviously has a clear memory of … Continue reading