Tea For Who(m)

 

Let's start with the easy part. Not to mince words, in my view the Tea Party must accept responsibility for our current debt crisis.ⁱ But no service is performed if we overlook the involvement of the Republican Party as a whole.ⁱⁱ And the President and Democrats as well. They all bear some of the blame for the situation. And so do we.

However threatening the issue may be, it reflects the major problem of our political system. The same situation seems to involve all legislation. Our current system often seems incapable of achievement because our politicians are incapable of compromise. There's too much of a “my way or the highway” mentality. Selfishness rules.

Why do people run for office? Why do they vote on legislation as they do? It's not very complicated. There are only four real reasons. The first two are the critical issues for someone considering candidacy: ego and self-gain. But with those two in the background, there are two others which govern day-to-day voting. They are personal beliefs and, more important, concern over the views of supporters. Politicians are always looking to the next election. Only by being elected can they satisfy their egos and fill their pockets. Perhaps that's a cynical point of view, but it's hard to find exceptions to this rule.

I don't know if the problem will be solved by the deadline, but right now we face a fiscal crisis – the possibility that our nation will default on its debts.ⁱⁱⁱ I don't really expect that to happen,^iv but there is no question that the major news of the day is the dispute over raising the debt ceiling, paying off what we owe, the cost of programs we have established, and the financial obligation that we are leaving to our children and grandchildren.

We're all responsible for the situation. Groups that are receiving entitlements^v demand that the payments they receive be increased; various professional groups^vi who insist that theirs is the last that should be cut since the job they perform is critical to keeping our economy intact and to keeping our citizens served properly; taxpayers complain that the government is taking too large a part of their earnings; lobbyists are making sure that their clients benefit from whatever legislation comes about; and everyone complains that prices – especially gas – are too high.

People want what they don't have. It doesn't always matter if their wants are justified. It may be reasonably argued that the Tea Party is taking its “mandate” too far, but apart from their own perspective, they are espousing what they believe the voters' viewpoint to be. After all, they want to be reelected. As do their opponents. So everyone is acting in a pig-headed manner to demonstrate their willingness to fight for what they claim the voters want. Those who support their position see it as virtuous; those who oppose it consider it the embodiment of evil.

But everyone agrees that some accommodation must be reached. Principles are important, however they cannot be allowed to prevent any movement from taking place. It's better to pass a measure that satisfies only some of our aims than to place ideals above action. We can try to change it later, but an incomplete solution is better than none at all.

Compromise. After that we can renew the fight.

 

i     The doctrinaire, at least those who read this, are likely to focus on this sentence and not read further. Certainly the liberals will see it as confirmation of their own view. But things are not as clear as we'd like to believe.

ii    See the first note. But also read the next sentence. And further.

iii    The employment and housing crises are a severe backdrop to the budget debate. They are not to be minimized, but they are not the subject of this essay.

iv    Although as time passes I become less and less confident.

v     And this includes the rich who are getting a variety of benefits through loopholes, special legislation, and the like.

vi    For example teachers, road builders, and health care workers. But those are only examples.