Posted on by Californiacontrarian

Responsible Congressmen ?

Earlier this month my local liberal paper had an editorial that I agreed with. Now one might not think that that is a big deal, but keep in mind that I rarely agree with what they have to say. The topic of the editorial was the federal debt and in their words “disaster looms unless responsible Americans step up.” (The emphasis is mine.)
What made them take this conservative stand? It was because of what Howard Schultz said. For those of you who don’t know Mr. Schultz, he is the very liberal retiring Starbuck’s executive who is apparently considering running for president in 2020. He said, “The greatest threat domestically to the country is this $21 trillion debt hanging over . . . America and future generations.”
In case any of you are not familiar with our increasing federal debt problem, let me relate some facts from this editorial:
The Congressional Budget Office predicts that an annual budget deficit of approximately $1trillion will be the new norm by 2020, and this will lead to a National debt of $33 trillion in a decade. The dollars just needed to service the debt will increase from $263 billion in 2017 to $1.05 trillion in 2028, and this will dwarf the annual military spending or the annual Medicare budget.
In other words we are talking bucoo bucks here, and the liberal editorial staff warns that “unless responsible Americans step up, disaster looms!”
Is there a way to change this runaway freight train that is headed for this upcoming big time disaster? Realistically there are only a few possible ways to alter the present projected course of the debt. First, raise taxes. Second, cut spending especially in reference to social programs. Or third, a combination of the two. (There are actually two other possible ways to derail this locomotive – one is to increase the amount of tax collected by reving up the economy – the “Trump solution.” And the other is to close your eyes and hope – this appears to be the Democrat’s way of dealing with this mess.)
I agree with the statement, “unless responsible Americans step up, disaster looms!”
Responsible Americans! I hope that no one expects to find this rare commodity in Congress, as a “responsible congressman” is as close to an oxymoron that one can get.  For the most part those in Congress are most concerned with getting re-elected, and this is done by playing to their base. Can anyone imagine a conservative congressman running for re-election by advocating raising taxes? Likewise can anyone envision a liberal congressman running for re-election on a platform of cutting spending, vis-a-vis stopping the freebies? The answer to both is, “No!”
Is there a solution? . . .  Yes, I have one!
My solution involves a pretty basic idea:
If we want Congress to act responsibly, stop making them run for re-election all the time, and this means “term limits.” One six year term for a U.S. Senator. Two two-year terms for a someone in the House of Representatives. If they were not always worried about placating their base, maybe there is a chance that they would act like responsible Americans!

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