Cuts to Public Services Harm America
From Jeffrey Sachs’ article in the Financial Times, “America has lost the battle over government”:
America’s two political parties depend on wealthy contributors to finance their presidential campaigns. These donors want and expect their taxes to stay low. As a result, social divisions, broken infrastructure, laggard educational attainments, high carbon emissions and chronic budget deficits are likely to continue no matter who is elected, even though the public supports higher taxes on corporations and the rich.
Only a big political realignment, perhaps spurred by a third party bold enough to campaign on free social media rather than expensive television advertising, is likely to break the status quo. Until then, the demise of public goods and services will continue apace.
Teacher Layoffs are Hurting Children, Undermining the Work of Building a more Vibrant Future
Teachers across the country are suffering, and the children they teach are seeing their futures limited, by the misuse of budget policy as a blunt instrument to roll back social spending on vital, community-building programs. In the case of Christine Simo, there is a clear correlation between misguided cut-first education budget policy and the real harm to the quality of education students can expect.
The argument is often made that investment in “intangibles”, like education, community-level quality of life, even programs for asset-building and public health, cannot be shown to have material benefit: this is wholly false, and anyone who cares about the quality of their children’s education, or the quality of life in their community, has personally observed evidence of that fact.
80% of Americans Want Tax Increases as part of Comprehensive Debt Deal
80% of Americans want tax increases to form part of a responsible, viable, comprehensive debt and deficit-reduction plan. Only 20% of Americans agree with the radical Tea Party position that there should be zero new revenues to help fund a comprehensive plan for debt and deficit-reduction. Even among Republicans, only 26% believe a serious debt and deficit-reduction plan should be done entirely with spending cuts.
The news has anti-tax ideologues rapt with dismay and outrage, because they cannot believe 80% of people would want to see their own tax burden increased, especially during a slow economic recovery, but the figures are not Obama’s; they come from Gallup. The Gallup poll does not indicate that 80% of people want their own taxes increased, only that they want tax increases of some kind to be part of the overall deal. And there is good reason for this.
Public Officials Who have to Cut Social Services Are Not Creative Enough
A radical idea is flooding through the American political discourse: that the only way to “repair” government budgets is to make extreme cuts to spending on social services, like education, healthcare, parks, infrastructure and public safety. The fact is: any public official who argues there is no option besides slashing spending on quality government programs is not creative enough and cannot be said to be fully equipped to govern. Polls now show between 80% and 90% of Americans want “cuts” only to areas of spending that are legitimately wasteful, fraudulent or abusive. Only 11% support education cuts, for instance. There is no support for cutting Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security benefits, only waste, fraud and abuse. Officials who have promised budget-busting tax cuts in order to curry favor with voters and financial backers are not serious about fiscal solvency.
(Source: independentsofprinciple.com)
Once World-leading Infrastructure in Decay: the Road to Recovery
The road to economic recovery must run through major new infrastructure upgrades, innovation and development. The American infrastructure was once the envy of the world, a valiant testament to the ingenuity and collaborative muscle of a free people; now, it is crumbling from malignant neglect, and the cynicism of our political system’s dealings with money.
Infrastructure spending was once part of the central mission of building a great nation, open to trade and competition, where free people would migrate, ship, travel and explore, according to their own free will, imagination, and opportunity. Now, that embarrassment of riches is little more than embarrassment, and the resulting confusion over how we let such a vibrant landscape slide so far.
(Source: independentsofprinciple.com)
Still Not Fixing It: American Infrastructure
The nationally syndicated writer Neal Peirce has a great column out this week on the nation’s infrastructure woes. It basically confirms what we all have thought as we drive over ridiculously broken roads, try to crowd into too-few buses or subway cars, or read horrifying stories about a bridge collapsing, not to mention the tragic levee failures in Louisiana. Peirce quotes Pennsylvania governor Rendell as reporting that “in 1960, 11.2 percent of federal non-defense spending went for infrastructure; today it’s 3.5 percent. In 1987, America spent 1.17 percent of its gross domestic product on infrastructure; most recently it’s .057 percent.”
(Source: nrdc.org)
US Needs a Different Kind of Transportation Initiative
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is about to unveil a new 6-year transportation reauthorization bill that may cut highway and mass transit funding by one-third. That mindless approach to cutting spending represents myopia at its worst. By doing so, the committee is failing to see the big picture on transportation. In order to keep America moving forward, we need to chart a new course — not slam on the brakes. This short-sighted bill would hamstring our nation’s transportation network. As it is, our transportation infrastructure, once the envy of the world, is crumbling. Failure to invest in our aging roads, bridges and railways puts our nation’s economic recovery, and our ability to compete in the global economy, at risk.
(Source: nrdc.org)
Education Must Be the Centerpiece of a Vibrant 21st Century Society
The United States of America has been, since its birth 235 years ago, a world leader in promoting universal public education. It has also been a world leader in promoting universal access to higher education and to advanced degrees. That history has made the US a leader in technological innovation and advanced problem solving for two centuries. That legacy is under threat, and and national educational aims demand immediate attention.
In the current budgetary and economic climate, cuts to public education, the rolling back of teachers’ salary opportunities, job security and benefits, and the underfunding of financial aid for higher education, are threatening to stunt the quality of education available to millions of Americans. But education is the key to strong, resilient democracy.
(Source: thehotspring.net)
The Only Reason to Slash Budgets is Failure of Imagination
There is only one reason to “slash” budgets, due to fiscal hardship provoked by irresponsible tax giveaways, lawless market manipulation and the ensuing economic recession: the same failure of imagination and recklessness that led to the economic collapse of 2007-2008.
There is quite literally no corner of this country that is so “broke” that it is “in danger” of collapse. The rapidly spreading “budget emergency” is emergent only in the sense that it is suddenly the thought engine driving one major party’s ideological and partisan attack on the economic and political levers that give middle class Americans influence over their government.
(Source: independentsofprinciple.com)
