Parenthood can be a challenge at times. We want to lead by example and do all the right things. Sometimes we get it right, sometimes we fail miserably. Even when it's the latter we still do our best to make sure our children understand that despite our mistakes, there is still a difference between what is right and what is wrong. We tell them: don't tattle, don't be selfish, treat others with respect and clean up your messes.
Unless, of course, there is an election. In which case, screw courtesy, decorum and responsibility and let the mud-slinging begin.
We are deep into election season in the most powerful nation on the planet and thus far, on the local front, the campaign slurs are well under way. Gross distortions of facts, name-calling and intentionally unflattering images of candidates splayed about our TV screens presumably to make the other candidate look better.
The insanity which is the U.S. electoral campaign is about as low-down and dirty as politics can get. What's worse is some of that bilge is starting to flow northward, with the Canada's Conservative party producing negative ads about the opposition, often when there isn't even an election.
This bizarre theatre of politics has candidates promising not to raise taxes, or even to cut taxes in order to get elected. Why? Because when it comes to American elections, raising taxes is tantamount to declaring your campaign is funded by Al Qaeda. The promise to cut taxes is as old as the Stars and Stripes. The Republican party is forever at the forefront decrying big government and high taxation. Even though two well-known Republican presidents, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, both raised taxes while in office. A Democrat who suggests a tax increase will likely be run out of town with flaming torches and pitchforks.
The tax issue is an interesting one because the American government debt is out of control. Much of this deficit is being blamed on government bailouts to the auto makers and the banks. The $700 billion bailout, which was actually called for by former U.S. President George W. Bush, has now been hung around the neck of his successor President Barack Obama.
It should be noted that of the money given to the banks only $30 billion has yet to be recouped. The U.S. auto-maker bailout accounted for $24.9 billion of this money. General Motors has already paid back $5.8 billion ahead of schedule. By contrast the war in Iraq has cost American tax payers $739 trillion, and Afghanistan: $358 trillion and counting.
The current national debt in the U.S. is $13 trillion dollars. To put this in perspective, the debt when George W. Bush took office in 2000 was $5.7 trillion, it had reached $11 trillion by the end of his second term. To compound this problem Bush systematically cut taxes while the government amassed more deficit than all of his predecessors.
To think that the solution to this issue is to cut more taxes borders on insanity. To accuse the current administration of being solely responsible for the current economic mess is to engage in an astonishing level of denial.
Part of the problem with the electorate is a growing sense of entitlement. National security, a massive state-of-the-art military, a well-maintained and expanding infrastructure, plus all of the other agencies designed to serve its citizens, these are the things the population not only expects but demands ...for a Wal-Mart price. I'm no economist, but something doesn't add up.
Recent polls suggest well over half of Americans do not favour a tax increase to solve the debt problem, while two thirds favour a cut in foreign aid (which accounts for only 1% of the federal budget). Cutting federal spending is being cited as the solution to the problem, but a big chunk of the government's current discretionary budget has been allocated to stimulus spending to create jobs. Taking that money away now could have serious consequences in an economy on life support.
Fiscal responsibility will never be a sexy theme for a political candidate, but that is exactly what the country needs. No, I don't mean idiots like the Tea Party who are great at exploiting the angst of those affected by a failed economy and extremely short on real solutions to the problem. True, raising taxes is not the right thing to do when people are already struggling to make ends meet, but embracing schemes that got the country into its current mess is not the answer either.
It's no wonder that interest in politics in the United States is at an all time low. Citizens are burdened with a crisis they did not create and are now being asked to play a blame game while trying to figure out where their next pay-cheque is coming from. As the politicians attack one other with twisted versions of reality, each claiming the moral high ground, the population is desperately seeking answers, solutions and a future for their children. The disconnect between the bickering morons running for office and the people they claim to serve is astounding.
It's time for politicians and the electorate to get with the program. You've had it far too good, for far too long, and somebody has to pay the bills. That's what grown ups do. Slander, denial and selfishness are not going to solve anything.
When the next generation is voting, what will they have learned?
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