Putting Fiscal Responsibility in America's Doll House

RedTracker| It’s noteworthy when a Newsweek article ‘The Keys to Success for CEO Politicians’ has a photo of three women and one man — all hopeful politicians wanting to lead enormously large, messed up political institutions. Looks are deceiving, leaving one to believe that femnism is faring better than it is in America.

The comments on Raina Kelley’s Feminism, Progressive Values, and Glenn Beck article are an eyeopener in their idiocy. Comment disarray is almost as serious a problem as Washington’s fiscal budget.

Did Washington, Jefferson, Adams and crew actually carry on this way? Was America founded on yelling, screaming stupidity and we’ve just packaged the story as an American fairy tale? I always believed that rational, intelligent, unusually thoughtful people founded this country.

As America considers how to restore any semblance of fiscal vibrancy to our economic house, it’s easy enough to consider putting an accomplished CEO in charge of the country. In wondering what kind of person should lead a bipartisan Congress so frozen in ideological differences that they barely speak to each other,  I like the idea of a turnaround specialist.

Problem is, generals don’t run Washington. And a wave of populism sweeping America says ‘let the little guy’ or ‘give us the little lady’ to run America. Intellectual arrogance — or competence — is the last quality America needs in a president, or so we say.

Few pundits even raise an eyebrow to the suggestion that New York City Michael Bloomberg could spend a billion of his own dollars to run for president. Bloomberg dithered his way out of consideration two years ago and who cares that he can pay for his own campaign, to say nothing of having extensive experience in government and business. 

Perhaps the issue is no longer about the person, but the country. Beyond words, what kind of quantifiable action plan would really get America back on track? Turnaround specialists make cuts and sell off underperforming units.

Please, tea party types, don’t just say ‘cut taxes’. Show people how that would actually work.

What are the jobs that can be created in America? How will we actually pay for Medicare and Medicaid, before we pledge more new entitlements? Perhaps boomers must become our own ‘council of elders’ making clear what cuts we’re willing to accept in promises made, because there’s no way our children can pay the price for pledges in place.

The promises were made on a set of false financial assumptions.

America needs truth serum, and I don’t want to read that the politicians can’t face the facts for fear of being run out of Washington. Ideology is killing the country.

I haven’t been a Republican for decades, but one comment was made during the health care debate that sums up the situation. With regard to insuring all Americans, ‘We can’t afford it.’

I don’t know whether we can or can’t afford national health care, but I do know that to meet our fiscal obligations requires financially successful Americans to support the rest of us.

If we put all the noble words aside, quit referencing Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D Roosevelt, this seems to be the question. For America to keep its fiscal promises, we all must work for America first and not ourselves second. 

Forget Wall Street bankers who are paid for creating nothing of value. You could make the scoundrels work for nothing, and little progress will be made in balancing America’s budget.

This is not the ideology on which the country was founded and it’s not the vision of nationhood that we embrace. I want Democrats to explain to me how we get out of this ditch, without boomers agreeing to accept less on our payouts and to remove the words ‘I’m entitled’ and ‘It’s not fair’ from our vocabularies. 

Does the AARP actually have a vision for restoring budgetary balance to the country or are they also the party of ‘no’? I’m so sick of ideology. Would someone please give us actual roadmaps? Anne