Congress remains locked in a no-holds-barred debate over raising the debt limit so the country can avoid default on Aug. 2 and continue to pay its bills. Continue, that is to send out millions upon millions of checks every month to pay interest on government bonds, put money in the bank accounts of Social Security pensioners, pay its share of Medicaid, honor farm subsidy promises, etc., etc., etc.
It also would be a good thing if the nation’s servicemen and women were paid each month along with the other millions of federal employees.
With the prospect of shutting down the government growing more and more real with each passing day, Kansans can be excused for wishing for senators past.
If Bob Dole were still in the Senate, the nation would be hearing his voice, loud and clear, on this issue. He would be demanding compromise; demanding action; demanding reason.
Nancy Kassebaum, smiling and quiet, would be equally firm. The nation also would know exactly how she felt about dealing with the debt ceiling and the deficit. She also would be for a combination of tax hikes and deficit reductions; she would be even less partisan; even fuller of sweet reason.
So, quick, tell me how Pat Roberts and Jerry Moran stand on these critical issues. Are they out front, providing leadership? Are they for working with the other side of the aisle to avert a crisis? Or are they going with the partisan flow? Are they focusing the attention of the Kansas public on what is the most important issue of the year — or are they forcing Kansans to look elsewhere for understanding and advice?
WELL, THAT IS a side issue. There is no way to peel back the calender to the days when Kansas had real clout in Congress. We are where we are and must make do.
Kansans can go elsewhere for instruction. Perhaps to Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase and Co. Dimon is a rock-ribbed conservative as well as head of one of the world’s largest financial companies. Thursday he said, “No one can tell me with certainty that a U.S. default wouldn’t cause catastrophe and wouldn’t severely damage the U.S. or global economy. And it would be irresponsible to take that chance.”
Kansas Republicans could also turn to Al Hoffman Jr., who was George W. Bush’s campaign manager in both 2,000 and 2004. Hoffman wrote an op ed essay for Thursday’s New York Times in which he urged Republicans to come down from their ideological high horse and offer compromise solutions that would raise the debt ceiling and reduce the deficit.
“Republicans, “Hoffman wrote, “needn’t abandon their commitment to smaller government. But by taking the high road of compromise now to achieve real reform later, they might just show which party is truly committed to its country’s future.”
Hoffman went on to advocate an agreement with the administration to agree to cut spending by 85 percent along with a 15 percent increase in revenue through the elimination of loopholes or increases in rates.
Hoffman noted that the president’s bipartisan debt commission developed proposals to “reduce or scrap tax breaks in a way that would both lower tax rates and generate $1 trillion in additional revenues over 10 years.” This, he observed, is a way to bring the deficit down without “higher, growth-reducing tax rates.”
Even Sen. Mitch McConnell, Republican senate leader, recognizes a need to dodge the default bullet with a compromise. He proposes legislation that would give President Barack Obama the authority to raise the debt ceiling up to three times without agreeing to any spending cuts. The president’s initiatives could be rejected by Congress, but he could nullify that action with a veto, which he would have the votes to sustain.
McConnell seems to think that would saddle the president with the sole responsibility for raising the debt ceiling, which truly is an insult to the intelligence of the American people. But let that pass, too. The McConnell dodge would avoid a potential catastrophe and it may be the only path to rational action left open.
— Emerson Lynn, jr.
