In American history social extremists have included groups
that fought for the rights of women, minorities, and gays. In the beginning of these movements the
supporters were viewed as loony and little attention was given by the majority
of society. In 1848 a convention on
women’s rights convened in Seneca Falls, NY.
The group came up with a list of sentiments including the right for
women to vote, own property, and obtain educations. If you asked the average citizen of the time
what they thought of these ideas he or she (most women of the time would have
said they were crazy) would have proclaimed the Seneca Falls conventioneers as ‘rabble-rousers’
and their ideas as ‘hogwash.’ It would
take decades but slowly society changed and those ideas eventually became
mainstream beliefs.
The Civil Rights movement was also slow to change
society. Beginning in the 19th
century and picking up steam in the 1950s and 1960s change came politically and
judicially. In 1960 if you asked a young
person if they thought a black man would be president in their lifetime the
most likely answer would be ‘no way.’ In
more recent times the Gay Rights movement has succeeded in changing the
attitude of a majority of Americans. In
1990 if you asked a citizen about gay marriage you would most likely have
gotten a blank stare and a reply of ‘never going to happen.’
Political extremists capitalize on a nation’s problems and prey
upon the fears of followers. These
groups start out small and focus on issues most people would agree upon. They then affix blame for the nation’s woes
on a group or groups of people, deserving of the blame or not.
The United States does have a huge debt problem--$16 trillion
and growing. A debt that has accumulated
regardless of the political party controlling the White House or Congress. When it seemed like the debt was finally
getting under control in the late 1990s we had the terrorist attacks in 2001
and the subsequent wars that followed, along with the near economic collapse in
2008 and the Great Recession.
Which brings us to the political extremists of today, the
Tea Party members of the Republican Party.
Their agenda is for lower taxes and less government. If you ask the average citizen if they
thought the government should be smaller and if they want to pay lower taxes
the reply would be ‘yes and hell yes!’
The Tea Party wants to take drastic measures to pay down the federal deficit
by slashing spending. This is somehow supposed
to also be accomplished by slashing taxes resulting in reduced revenue for the
government.
Keep in mind the federal government spends trillions of
dollars every year ($3.539 trillion in FY 2012). Whether it is through direct employment,
contracting, money sent to states, or even Medicaid most of the money goes to
American businesses and workers. Millions
of citizens are the beneficiaries of this spending, which no other entity comes
close to matching. Those businesses and their
workers pay taxes, sending some of that money back to Uncle Sam. Government spending enables millions of
citizens to achieve and maintain a middle class lifestyle. Meanwhile, many business leaders in the
private sector would gladly move operations from the states to a foreign nation
to make slightly more profit.
Implementing severe cuts, as the Tea Party proposes, would negatively impact millions of American citizens and thousands of businesses. That is why gradual reductions in spending are the best method of accomplishing debt reduction. A gradual decline would allow businesses that work with the government to adapt as needed. Whether that means operating in a leaner, more competitive fashion or transitioning to more non-government work to keep up revenues. Huge cuts over a short period of time would jeopardize far too many businesses, workers, and would hit the middle class hard. The economy would shift from the ongoing recovery back into a recessionary state. The deficit took decades to grow so large; it will take just as long to pay down.
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