Undermining our National Security?

Some thoughts from a middle class citizen's perspective as our nation teeters on the brink of its "fiscal cliff" ....

Would I like to receive my “2K” tax break this tax year? Of course. My family would put this additional ‘income’ to good use. Do I think that the net combined effect of this middle class tax-break will have a significant positive impact on the economy? No I do not believe that this middle class tax- break will have a significant impact on the economy. I believe that the impact on the economy will be marginal at best. What we need in order to get our economy moving once again is long term job creation (i.e., create an environment favorable to bringing jobs from overseas back to the United States and heavily penalize goods & services brought back into the U.S. by companies choosing to have their products and services 'made' by foreign workers).

Do I think that raising taxes on those individuals making over $250,000 a year will be a major source of revenue generation. No I do not think that raising taxes on those individuals making over $250,000 a year will be a major source of revenue generation. That being said, if we are looking to slash benefits for programs like Medicare and Medicaid --in a effort to reign-in and reduce deficit spending-- then is asking the top income earners to pay a bit more that outrageous? I don’t think so. And as for the Republican argument that “raising taxes on individuals making over $250,000 a year will hurt small businesses who are job creators, employing approximately 25% of the American workforce”: then why not just enable a tax-provision whereby those who file taxes as a legitimate small business owner will continue to pay the lower tax rate as they have done in previous years. Why is it so difficult to make the latter distinction? But if Republicans give on the raising taxes for individuals making over $250,000 --with the business caveat—I don’t think that Democrats should be able to slide addressing concrete spending cuts to entitlement programs in order to address deficit spending over into next year. There has to be a give and take --on both sides of the aisle-- right now.

I think that we have become such a sharply divided nation, in terms of politics, these past few years –and after this recent Presidential election most especially—that our elected representatives have come to approach the problems facing our nation from an “all or NOTHING!” or “winner take all” perspective, totally overlooking the possibility of a middle=ground for viable solutions to move forward.

So in light of the above: Am I willing to forgo my middle class tax-break? Absolutely!! … I will gladly forgo my tax-break if the elected representatives of “we the people” will stop playing political volleyball with our country’s future and national security, by finally getting their butts to the negotiating table, rolling up their sleeves, sitting down and doing what it takes to stop sequestration cuts from going into effect. Enough with the party politics already?! With a 49 -51 split on the Presidential vote neither side has sweeping mandate to do ANYTHING. The sequestration cuts –which will go into effect after the first of the new year-- will greatly undermine our National Security, in my humble opinion, at a time when we can ill-afford to have our military undermined in such an egregious fashion. It’s been four years since Congress has been able to pass an actual budget: I think it’s about dang time they got down to business!! If they can’t: maybe “we the people” should recall* them ALL?



[* That is to say vote them out of office when they are up for re-election.  Technically there exists no formal provision in the Constitution for recalling elected officials by the people they represent ... a senator or congressman can only suffer expulsion via the elected body in which they serve (i.e., via Congressional vote or Senate vote).]