Americans Deserve Better

President Obama, in 2006 you and 43 other Senate Democrats voted against raising the debt ceiling. At the time you said: “The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. Government can’t pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government’s reckless fiscal policies. … Increasing America’s debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that ‘the buck stops here.’ Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better.”

What has changed since 2006 that caused you to change your mind, President Obama?

In 2007 and 2008 you didn’t seem to think the debt ceiling vote was important, so you skipped the vote. The buck didn’t stop long with you then, and it doesn’t now.

Americans deserve better.

Democrat Prejudice (Letter to Independent Coast Observer)

Rob Lowe indulged in the “soft bigotry of prejudice” (Mean-spirited, ICO April 29, 2011 letter). According to Mr. Lowe, mostly white, pseudo-religious Republicans are anti-gay and favor budget cuts for the elderly, poor, and needy, and tax cuts for the über-rich. He must also think that Republicans created California’s messes, even though Republicans have been a minority for many years.

Anti-gay, I suppose, means supporters of Proposition 8. Although Alice and I and most of our conservative friends opposed Prop 8, it was passed by over 52% of California voters, and drew strong support from groups with high Democrat membership such as Catholics, Orthodox Jews, Eastern Orthodox Church, African Americans, and Asians. Are they pseudo-religious, Mr. Lowe?

Earlier, 61% of Californians passed Proposition 22 to recognize only opposite-sex marriages. Since many Democrats supported Prop 22, are they closet Republicans, Mr. Lowe?

In terms of Republicans favoring budget cuts, 67% of Californians rejected extending taxes two years ago, and current polling indicates they would do the same. Again, it takes more than Republican votes to reject tax extensions or increases. Republicans do tend to favor budget cuts, particularly in areas beloved of Democrats such as pandering to public-employee unions. The reason is simple and obvious: California can’t afford to continue cutting the budgets of the elderly, poor and needy (and of education, parks, police and fire protection) to satisfy the ever-increasing demands of current pensions, and coming like a tsunami, the much larger public-employee unfunded pension liabilities. At the current rate, in a few decades California will have to apply all tax revenues to pensions only.

Public-employee pensioners will then receive their checks in better managed states and leave California to those who can’t move. California Democrats and Republicans will finally find Mr. Lowe’s “common ground” in other states.

Michael B. Combs

Don't Step In It (Letter to Independent Coast Observer)

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Governor Brown missing budget deadline!  Republicans’ fault!

Brown isn’t getting the two Republican votes each in the Senate and the Assembly he needs to call a special June election for voters whether to extend taxes. It’s Déjà vu all over again. In May 2009 Governor Schwarzenegger got the votes and put tax-increase propositions on the ballot. The voters defeated them 2 votes to 1. Then, as now, Democrat politicians said that if the propositions didn’t pass then drastic cuts would be made to education and health services. Then, as now, none were.

Now the sorry state of California’s finances are the Republicans’ fault, even though Republicans for years haven’t had enough votes to raise or lower anyone’s taxes, or to either cut or raise spending. Blaming Republicans is like blaming the street sweeper after the horse parade for all the manure on the road. Believe me, he wishes it never got there in the first place.

Republicans are trying to use the only clout they have to get the majority Democrats to work on the problem. From what has been in the news recently, so far the Democrats haven’t found one program that could stand even the slightest cut. “Cut spending? We need to raise it!” they cry, as they fall in line behind “Economist” Paul Krugman of the New York Times.

Governor Brown talks some spending cuts, but he knows that even if he gets the tax extensions on the ballot, and by some miracle they pass, he still won’t be able to wring promised spending cuts from the Legislature. Even his seizure of redevelopment funds, which cities like Santa Rosa are working hard to circumvent, only moves spending from one account to another.

More smoke and mirrors.

Michael B. Combs