Is it the Age of Austerity?

So what do we cut? In the age of austerity, actions and things we have grown accustom to from government are on the chopping block. This is not necessarily a bad thing. The government needs to stop spending money on programs that can be handled by the private sector.  The U.S. government spends tens of millions of dollars promoting American businesses overseas, private business should handle their own advertising. We should stop subsidizing oil drilling, agriculture, finance, get out of the home loan business and  scale back on high-end weapons programs designed for the next “great” land war (which seems very unlikely).

But this is not the discussion we are having.  We are lacking a legitimate discussion on what we want government to do for us.  According to a recent ABC/Washington Post Poll, Americans want Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, strong defense, highways, good schools, National parks, a space program, cancer research and much, much more.  So what do we do? We cannot afford it all…not anymore.  I have been hearing some talking heads on the 24 hour news networks say it is not an income problem, but a spending problem. 

That is true only if we start cutting Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and defense. According to the Congressional Budget Office, those areas of the budget equal 75% of the total budget. We could stop funding for everything else government does and we would still be in the RED, as that is only 19% of the budget.  The remaining 6% is monies we pay on the interest to our debt. 

We are not going to suddenly stop all other functions of our government.  Obviously that would be insane and destroy all we know.  The question is how and when do we have a rational discussion in a hyper-partisan political world?  I believe it is up to us, the American people to openly discuss with each other and then our representatives what our expectations are.   I understand there will be disagreement. However, I feel there will be more we agree on than disagree.  If our political leaders on the left and right fail to hear us, we must become more vocal if we want anything to change.

My fear is that many of us have given up.  We feel that money from special interest have plugged the ears of our so-called “leaders.”  I share that fear.  But the time is now to cajole them into hearing us.  The time is now…start talking...then start shouting! 

The T Word

Our $10 bill with our first Secretary of the Treasury: Alexander Hamilton

Yes, I said the “T” word. Taxes are not a bad thing: they are a necessary thing.  The Congress and the President are finally talking seriously about debt reduction.  Currently, our national debt is 14.357 Trillion dollars, or more than $47,000 per American.  The President is suggesting reducing that amount by 4 trillion dollars over the next ten years.  He suggests doing so with a mix of spending cuts, tax increases, allowing certain tax breaks to expire and closing tax loopholes.  The Republicans are saying “NO” and are only suggesting 2 trillion in spending cuts over ten years.  Sorry folks the math does not add up.  The only way our massive debt will come down is a combination of painful spending cuts and tax increases. This is the reality we live in and must accept.

People want to blame the President for this mess. It’s not his fault.  Others want to blame Bush for this mess, not his fault either.  It is Presidents Regan, Bush I, Clinton, Bush II, Obama, the Congress from 1980 to present and mostly it is our fault.  We the people elect Congress and under Article I of the Constitution they control all taxing and spending. Be it under Republicans or Democrats our desire to have them tell us what we want to hear and then not act in the best interest of the country is explicitly OUR fault.

We can have Social Security, Medicare, and all the programs that government does, fight one, two and even three wars at once and still cut taxes!  Then we can look for Santa Clause and hunt down Big Foot too.  It is time we grow up and understand what the government does isn’t free?  If we want roads, we have to pay for it.  A man on the moon. Need to pay for it.  Clean air, water, safe mines, cancer research, health care for the poor, disabled and old – got to pay for it. 

It is time now to stop using our collective credit card and start paying the bills.  The only way to do that is cut spending and increase taxes.  Both Republicans and Democrats need to stop shouting at each other on the 24-hour “news” programs, stop listening to the wack-jobs of the Left and the Right and get to business. 

We need to have a real national discussion on what we want from our government and what can be cut. Polls show that American want spending cuts, but when they start asking about specific programs, they say I want that.  Guess what?  You can’t have it all and certainly not for free. 

John Adams famously said “Facts are stubborn things.”  Here are the facts:

The Public Debt Since 1980

1980: 930 Billion – Regan elected

1984: 1.662 Trillion – Regan –reelected (+732 Billion)

1988: 2.602 Trillion – Bush I elected (+940 Billion)

1992: 4.064 Trillion – Clinton elected (+1.462 Trillion)

1996: 5.224 Trillion – Clinton reelected (+1.16 Trillion)

2000: 5.674 Trillion – Bush II elected (+450 Billion)

2004: 7.379 Trillion – Bush II reelected (+1.705 Trillion)

2008: 10.024 Trillion – Obama elected (+2.645 Trillion)

20011: 14.357 Trillion (+4.333 Trillion)

Source: The Tax Policy Center

Top Marginal Tax Rate:

1980: 70%

1984: 50%

1988: 28%

1992: 31%

1996: 39.6%

2000: 39.6%

2004: 35%

2008: 35%

20011: 35%

Source: The Tax Policy Center

 A 1% increase top marginal income tax rate would generate 83.9 Billion dollars over 10 years.  A 1% increase on all income brackets would generate $480.4 Billion dollars over 10 years.

Source: Congressional Budget Office

Top Capital Gains Tax:

1980: 28%

1984: 20%

1988: 33%

1992: 28.9%

1996: 29.2%

2000: 21.2%

2004: 16.1%

2008: 15.4%

20011: 15%

Source: Citizens for Tax Justice

A 3% increase of capital gains tax would generate $48.5 Billion.

Source: Congressional Budget Office

Now is the time to get our debt under control and the only way that can be done is both with tax increases and spending cuts.  Tell your elected official. 

Compromise's Death

The grandest irony I have endured as an adult is the adage, "Do as I say, not as I do." This could be no more fitting than in our current political "debate" with regards to the debt ceiling. We teach our children that throughout our history our leaders have had to make tough choices and compromises to eventually meet the end goal. Yet, today our current crop of politicians, who say they value and honor the ideals of the Founding Fathers, scoff at the idea or mere thought of compromise. Our system of government was designed for compromise, to have differing opinions come together and each give something in order to move forward. For those that think scoring political points is better than compromise then you are not a student of United States history. Here is a brief list of some compromises that helped shape our country:

Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth drafting the "Great Compromise"

The Great Compromise or Connecticut Compromise:  Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth, both delegates from Connecticut, devised the idea of a bicameral legislative branch, creating the House of Representatives and the Senate. This compromise helped move the Constitutional convention forward and keep the country together.


The Three-Fifths Compromise: Though seen as abhorrent today, this was an important step in the abolitionist movement. Seeing that the Southern states would not free their slaves but wanted to count them as part of the population to gain more power in the House of Representatives, the Northern delegates did what they had to do to mitigate the power of the slaving holding states with the long term goal of abolishing slavery.

The Compromise of 1790: Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson had been intense political foes for many years and had very different ideas for the future of the United States. The Compromise of 1790 was the first of three that would try to keep the Union together until 1860. After the War of Independence the states had incurred large amounts of debt incurred. Hamilton saw that it would be best for the Federal government to assume the entire debt of the new nation but Jefferson saw that as handing the central government too much power. In exchange for a group of Southern votes a comprise was reached in which the Federal government assumed all debts and a new capitol was created along the Potomac River: The District of Colombia.


The Civil Rights Act of 1964: President Johnson first mission after assuming office after President Kennedy's assassination was the passage of the Civil Rights Acts. Having passed the House quickly the original version of the bill was stalled in the Senate by a 54 day filibuster led by Strom Thurmond. Seeing that the bill would not pass, a coalition of Senators made a compromise bill that would garner enough votes to stop the filibuster and pass the House. Though not 100% what was wanted the compromise bill was a gigantic leap forward for civil rights in the United States. Had those Senators not felt that the greater good would be served by compromise, who knows how much longer the United States would have remained a back water of civil rights.

There are many more examples of past politicians with the will and forethought to make compromises to move our country forward. I ask that our current members of the House and Senate look to our past to see what great futures are brought by compromise.

Jeffrey E. Porter
July 11th, 2011

Sacrifice?

(Image from herald-review.com by Kelly J. Huff)

Our Nation is at War.  Do you feel it?  For nearly all my daughter’s life and all of my son’s life we have been sending brave men and women to lands far away.  In this decade’s long struggle what have you sacrificed?  Odds are you are like me.  You do not feel it and you have sacrificed nothing.  In fact, my taxes have been lowered and I have not suffered anything.  Nothing has been asked of me.  I am too busy, too jaded; too fill in the blank, to do anything.  I give some money to the Wounded Warrior Project and to the USO, but I do that because of a blend of thanks and guilt. Our Leaders, both Democrat and Republican have asked nothing from the American people collectively.  Frankly, it is shameful that they have not. 

I know people who have served.  I have some far off relations that have endured three, four, and even five “tours” of Afghanistan and Iraq.  I have some friends that I once knew and trade e-mails with on rare occasion, but the Wars have not really touched me. 

According to the Department of Defense, since the start of these Wars, 2.28 million individual service personnel have spent time in Afghanistan and Iraq; most of them going back more than once.  Of those 2.28 million who have gone, 6,084 have lost their lives and another 44,266 have been wounded.  These numbers will only increase.

Our service men and women only offer themselves, but their families too.  These are people who have truly sacrificed in the past decade.  The have suffered hardship and separation that the vast majority of no concept of.  We all thank them for their service.  But is that enough?  In my opinion, it is not.  It’s not even close.

Yes, we given them good benefits after they leave – free health care, GI Bill, if they serve long-enough a significant pension, and other benefits; all well-earned and all well-deserved.  But that is not what I am talking about. When this or any Nation goes to War it should feel it.  We should not be distracted from the War by reality TV, Facebook, or whatever stupid thing politicians do.  A nation at War should be focused on it.  If we ask men and women to die for us; we should have the common decency to pay attention.  If were asked to do more; if we actually had some token sacrifice to make, it is my feeling they would not have been there so long,  sacrificed  so much and they would have had the resources and equipment they needs in 2004 rather than 2007; we would have paid close watch on Afghanistan as it fell apart.  Wars of occupation have no end.  That is our fault. 

What have you done?  If you are like me – nowhere near enough.

-       Jon Porter

July 6, 2011

We the People - My Op-Ed

(John Trumbull's The Declaration of Independence - 1795)

When I read the Declaration of Independence and those first words that Thomas Jefferson wrote echo through my thoughts I become disheartened and proud. Disheartened because our country is split, lost its way and its leaders do not look to succeed for its people but for themselves. Proud because I know if a group of people summon the courage that our forefathers brought to help create this nation that we can regain the promise of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. As a thirty-four year old man who cares deeply for his country and its people I have sought venues in which I could express my thoughts, concerns, and ideas. Yet, having neither money, power, or any platform to stand on I have finally taken to the great equalizer of our time to create a community platform where like minded citizens who are frustrated at the machinations of our current government, its corporations and citizens can speak freely, exchange ideas and open its readers to ideas that do not have to fit a specific ideology. My Op-Ed will provide content at least five times per week by men and women from across the country, professions, and socioeconomic backgrounds that all are looking to have their voices heard.

To a better tomorrow,

Jeffrey E. Porter