It's Not Actually a Secret

An article in today's New York Times supposedly reveals the "dirty secret" that is holding up a grand bargain on the budget. What secret you ask? Well it's not actually a secret, it's just politics as usual. According to the article - as if anyone needed to see reporting on this to know that it is the case - Democrats are actually unwilling to vote for higher taxes on the wealthy especially in an election year when much of their war chest will be supplied by rich backers. Meanwhile Republicans are actually unwilling to vote for entitlement reform because almost the entirety of their base is composed of old people. So in other words, the "secret" of why our politicians won't do anything good for our country is because they are politicians who are beholden more to their electoral prospects and the money supporting their campaigns than they are to the good of the country.

This, alas, is really at the root of what is wrong with our political system. Yes, for the past few years the Republican party has been hijacked by a group of buffoons, but the real paralysis within American politics is caused by an addiction to the money of special interest groups, and exacerbated by the lack of a third (or fourth or fifth) political party to offer good ideas when both Democrats and Republicans walk in lockstep to support party and agenda over the American people.

Does it really surprise anyone that for all their rhetoric about raising taxes on the wealthy Democrats are scared to do this because - let's be real - so much of their funding comes from the rich? Does it really surprise anyone that despite their stated hatred of government spending Republicans are opposed to cutting the main drivers of spending because pretty much every Republican voter in the country qualifies as a member of the AARP? This isn't a secret, this is the gridlock inherent in a system that places special interest - including the interests of the party - and the money that comes along with those interests ahead of the American people. Any rational long-term budgetary plan would come up with ways to cut spending on both Social Security and Medicare while also being flexible enough to realize that there are times when taxes should rise and times when taxes should fall. We wouldn't lock ourselves out of addressing the primary drivers of our deficit, nor would we lock ourselves into the inability not to raise additional revenue when needed. It's almost asinine to consider otherwise, but both parties put on a facade of rigid ideology and then can't muster the fortitude to vote for their own ideas because they are scared of the political consequences. This is a recipe for national decline.

It's not a secret that our government is broken. And while there are lots of temporary reasons that this is the case, the underlying structural issue of a government addicted to special interest money and unwilling to speak candidly with the American people about our problems and propose solutions (as opposed to fear-mongering and proposing things NOT to do) are not going away anytime soon. We need campaign finance reform laws and an end to the addiction and influx of monied interests, and we need legislators whose priority is making America better, not getting reelected. Until we shift the rules and the discourse we are going to be moving in the wrong direction.