While Republicans and Democrats bicker about budget cuts and taxes, the average citizen is left in the dark. At midnight on Saturday, the automatic 85 billion dollar budget cuts will take into effect. According to Obama, the budget cuts will affect communities throughout the country (Jackson par 6).
The GOP refuses to cut taxes on the wealthy, they cling to a failed stimulus policy that favors those with money The Democrats are afraid to let our spending in the public sector slip, and they are right to worry. Everyone depends on public spending, even the upper middle classes. When the government cuts spending they are taking away jobs, overburdening our poor, and cutting corners in important areas of spending (like educations and infrastructure).
Europe is currently in a messy situation similar to ours. To address the issue of government debt, Spain cut most public spending in 2007, crippling their society to the point that most of their citizens are unemployed. Spaniards have to trade goods and labor just to make ends meet (Mir par 8).
It is doubtful the US would return to the barter system like Spain, but there is no doubt a cut in public spending would hurt the poorest of our nation. How can the GOP justify tax break for the wealthy at the expense of the wellbeing of the poor? Perhaps our ‘safety net’ has been too wide in the past, but that does not justify taking away the much needed benefits our government provides.
The answer seems simple. When two groups of people disagree on a plan of action, they compromise. The lack of compromise on Capitol Hill is stunning. The GOP and Democrats are unwilling to agree on major issues, making our Federal Government look like competing fraternities at rush week. What is wrong will some budget cuts and some tax increases? Recently President Obama addressed makers of private jets, stating the need to remove tax breaks for people who buy private jets. “And they (private jet owners) don't need an extra tax break, especially at a time when we're trying to reduce the deficit. Something's got to give” (Jackson par 6). At a time when we are trying to cut spending and reduce the deficit, we need to look to our nations wealthy to take up the slack. Just cutting public spending will not ‘fix’ our deficit (as evident with Spain). Our representatives need to implement a combination of spending cuts and tax reform. Bipartisan effort is necessary in any government, and it is important to make good policy.
Jackson, David. February 21, 2013. “Obama defends ending corporate jet tax break.” USA Today. Retrieved on March 2, 2013 from http://www.usatoday.com/story/theoval/2013/02/21/obama-corporate-jets-ta....
Jackson, David. March 2, 2013. “Obama blames republicans for sequester.” USA Today. Retrieved on March 2, 2013 from http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/03/02/obama-republicans-sequester-cathy-rodgers/1958019/.
Mir, Meritxell. February 20, 2013. “In hard-hit Spain, bartering becomes means of getting by.” USA Today. Retrieved on March 2, 2013 from http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/02/20/spanish-bartering/18....
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