Washington is at a standstill. The public’s trust in our Congress is at an all-time low of about 15%. Misguided feel-good assertions — cutting taxes will lower the deficit, for example — are winning support at the expense of the greater good and future generations. A national tragedy is emerging: representative democracy, one of our greatest strengths as a country, is also becoming our greatest weakness.
The most damaging feel-good pronouncements involve taxes, budget deficits, and the economy — all interrelated and taken together, the biggest challenge we face as a nation. Today’s new generation of Republicans are pushing these policies, and in the process revealing one of two deceptions (or worse, both): they are either purposely misleading Americans or they really don’t understand how budgets and the economy work. Either way is wrong-headed. An exploration of these two ruses sheds light on how we can emerge from the tax and budget gridlock that is paralyzing Washington.
In the first deception, Republicans are trying to win elections by saying we can lower taxes and cut the deficit simultaneously. This is trickle down economics, which has little basis in economic research or reality. In fact, as history has proven over the past thirty years, cutting taxes will lead to higher deficits. Moreover, there is no causal evidence between tax cuts and job growth, as the likes of Scott Brown say. In addition, trickle-down economics has been discredited by former proponents, including President Reagan’s budget director, David Stockman, and two of President Bush’s economic advisors.
In the second scenario, Republicans don’t understand how budgets and the economy work. Shrinking government, the rallying cry of the Tea Party, leads to a loss of public sector jobs, not what America needs right now. And lowering corporate or individual taxes will not lead to job growth; American corporations have over $1 trillion in profits. They just don’t see hiring in the U.S. as a good investment right now.
How do we move beyond this fantasyland into reality, and restore trust in government again?
First, let’s be honest with the American people and end the feel-good pronouncements that have no basis in fact. Let’s see members of Congress worry less about getting re-elected — the public’s perception that this is every elected official’s top priority is the primary reason politicians are so distrusted. A dedication to the common good, the long term, the next generation: these are the commitments we need from representatives in Washington.
Second, let’s review the facts about the budget deficit and taxes. The deficits were caused by three Bush initiatives: the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the 2003 tax cuts. The Clinton administration was running surpluses only 12 years ago. On taxes, our highest tax rate is lower than it has been in all but five of the past 80 years, and is only half of where it was 31 years ago. Income tax revenues as a percent of GDP are at their lowest point in sixty years.
Third, let’s get back to an old fashioned process that worked in the country for over 200 years: debate, compromise, and decision making in the U.S. Congress. In the Senate, let’s call the Republicans’ bluff: let them filibuster and debate, day and night. Go ahead, see how fast the public’s scorn descends upon those blocking progress and creating more uncertainty in the economy. And House Speaker Boehner should emulate former Speaker Tip O’Neill: sit down with the President to end the impasse, just like Tip did on taxes in 1986. Many forget that Reagan raised taxes 11 times, and the 1986 tax law increased the rate on capital gains by 40% while simultaneously enacting the biggest corporate tax increase in history.
Americans want a government of leaders who know how to balance policies that sound good with policies that are good, for the long term. Certainly, the public will tolerate political self-interest to a point. But when the American people sense that their long-term futures are becoming bleaker because of short-term, feel-good policies, they will turn their backs on self-interested politicians, and find a new and more magnanimous set of leaders to preserve our democracy and the opportunity of the American dream for their children.
Tom Conroy is state representative for Lincoln, Sudbury, and Wayland.
I took a class once on contract negotiations. The professor grouped people and then assigned them to be either “union” or “management”.
My group was “union”. But the people in my group were complete bastards. They recognized that the “management” that we were negotiating with were on the basketball team. They knew that if these guys did poorly or failed the class (by not negotiating a contract), they’d be off the team. So what did they do? They refused to negotiate *any* points. They made their demands, and just said “these are our demands, take them or leave them”.
Ultimately the athletes conceded every single point. I was so disgusted by this show of stonewalling and brinksmanship that I wrote a side paper criticizing the entire process, pointing out that the risks/rewards were not the same as in a typical union/management battle.
There is no one performing such a critique of the US political system, and there really should be.
…the problem is that our election system gives perverse incentives.
If all a politician needed to do to get reelected was to be good, honest and competent, “focusing on getting reelected” wouldn’t be a problem. The problem is that politicians need to raise boatloads of money from people who don’t necessarily have the public interest at heart in order to buy airtime in order to tell low-information voters that they are good, honest and competent and their opponent is not.
Ideally, voters would pay closer attention so that political advertising wouldn’t be necessary. Since that isn’t likely to happen anytime soon, we need to get better justices onto the Supreme Court so we can overturn Citizens United and eventually ban all private financing of campaigns.