Sunday, July 31, 2011

The genius of Christina KBo

Much has been said recently about the virtue of compromise. We can scarcely turn on the tv or radio, or click on a hyperlink without a chorus of pundits, lawmakers, and advisors of all stripes touting its glory. But the truth is, the pursuit of "compro...mise-at-all-cost" is just being a stooge. Consider: A man goes to see doctor for a check-up... (My apologies to all the good docs out there, but I wanted to use an analogy the President would be sure to understand.) Doc: "Oooo - that looks like a nasty thorn in your foot. We'll have to take both legs at the hip." Man: "WHAT? That seems like a lot. Let's talk about this." Doc: "Okay - but if we don't decide what to do within ten - no, five - no, three; THREE minutes, we'll have to take the right arm above the elbow." Man: "Just wait a minute - hold on. The thorn is in the right big toe. Why don't you just take it out? Or at most, just take that toe??" Doc: "Oh. Well, that just isn't enough. You have to meet me halfway, at least! (sigh.) I'll tell you what. If we get into surgery right now, we'll agree to just take the two legs. At the hip." Man: "But that's where you started! Besides, my arm is fine - it doesn't have anything to do with the big toe with the thorn in it!" Doc: "It's complicated. You wouldn't understand. Stop wasting time. Here - sign this release form." Man: "But, there's nothing wrong with the other leg. Why are you saying - " Doc: "You're obstructing! Stop obstructing, start compromising, and sign the form. Don't worry about reading it. That's thorn's not getting any better, you know." Man: "Okay, okay. I'll tell you what. You can take the one leg, below the knee." Doc: "You don't even understand the gift you're getting. You realize that you will get a super-sweet prosthetic, right?" Man: "Sorry, I didn't realize. But still, just the one leg, below the knee." Doc: "Alright. But this isn't over." The man wakes up to find one leg gone - above the knee... but what’s worse, a hot, throbbing big toe where the thorn still sits; but now it's infected. This? THIS... is not "compromise." It's slow-motion suicide. Yet this is precisely the scenario We the People deal with time and again: One side offers an idea that is off-the-rails, super-ridiculous (I’m looking at you, big spenders *cough*Bush*Obama*cough*), and the other side is bludgeoned with calls to “compromise.” The problem is, compromising from “super-ridiculous” not only lends credence to imbecility, it often produces a result that is in-and-of itself, “ridiculous” - and that is considered a victory! Let’s take a quick look at the April 15th Continuing Resolution as an example. Republicans declared they wanted to cut $100 billion dollars of spending. Democrats quickly responded by saying they want to add “only” about $100 billion dollars of spending (the compromise being the status quo). The $100 billion in cuts were suddenly compromised to $60 billion; with a partial government shutdown taken off the table. A short time later, $60 billion settled at $38 billion. Using what can only be described as “new math,” Democrats announced they agreed to $78 billion in cuts. Republicans quickly adopted the talking point - maybe they thought it made them look more successful. Then, the truth came out that the cuts actually amount to $352 million. To put this in perspective, we are set to post over $1 trillion in new debt this year; making the compromise a whopping .035% cut in spending - or about three one-hundredths of one penny for every dollar of new debt. This amount is more commonly known as “zero.” Absurd compromises are not the only examples of ridiculous. To wit: · Congress has not passed a budget in more than two years - RIDICULOUS! · Congress passed an2300+ page Health Care Reform Bill that increases government spending by unknown amounts (est. $893 billion annually*) - RIDICULOUS · Congress passed ANOTHER 2300+ page Financial Reform Bill, piling on even more government spending (est. economic impact unknown) - RIDICULOUS! · By the end of 2011, the United States of America will owe $15.6 trillion* of debt - RIDICULOUS! · Each year, for the foreseeable future, government spending levels will add on an additional $1-1.5 trillion* of new debt - RIDICULOUS! · Since 1996, the debt has grown over $10 trillion; half of that since 2008* - RIDICULOUS! Source: US Treasury / * CBO estimates Recently, Moody’s analyst Steven Hess floated a clever little suggestion. Complaining about “periodic uncertainty” in the bond markets, he helpfully offered that the Debt Limit should be raised automatically or even removed altogether. “We would reduce our assessment of event risk if the government changed its framework for managing government debt to lessen or eliminate that uncertainty.” Well jeepers, Mr. Hess - we can’t eliminate the debt limit, but in the spirit of compromise, we’ll just raise it again. See how that works? Ridiculous ideas deserve ridicule, not consideration; and certainly not the dignity of compromise. Look: We are tired of the ridiculousness. We are sick of the theater. We are insulted by the dishonest manipulation of the numbers. We are exasperated by the phony deadlines. But perhaps more than anything, we are disappointed and saddened. Disappointed by the men and women we elected, and had such high hopes for; and saddened by their display of such a shockingly pedestrian understanding of us, our expectations, and our level of concern and comprehension of the fiscal mess we are in right now. And for the President - or any elected official - to deride us because we see through their bluster to the truth and dare to call them on it is nothing short of offensive. After all, we are the ones footing the bill. If our elected officials are unwilling or unable to do the job we elected them to do, it’s time for them to step aside and go home. I’ll put my hand up to volunteer to go to D.C. and we can work this out without all the puffing and posturing. I’ve got a deal memo ready to go. Who’s with me?See More

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