Debt debacle hitting home
By JR Hoeft | Tuesday, November 29th, 2011 | Columns, PolicyIn my column this week in the Daily Press, I take on the super committee’s failure, the entire debt debacle, and the very real consequences close to home:
“If this were merely another Washington snafu, it would be one thing, but it’s not. Unfortunately, real lives and real issues are being affected, including here in Hampton Roads.”
Read the entire column at the Daily Press.
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About the author
Conservative to the core; liberal with his opinion! J.R. has been involved in politics for over a decade and has worked on several campaigns in Hampton Roads. He has served on the Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Chesapeake and the Central Committee of the Republican Party of Virginia. He is also the director of “Blogs United” in Virginia. E-mail J.R.. Follow J.R. on Twitter.
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13 Responses to "Debt debacle hitting home"
JR – I hear ya, but this is a perfect example of why we can’t reduce our debt… we only want cuts for the other guy.
“Because of the budget cuts, nearly 150 Air Force majors, just a couple years from retirement, are being dismissed. This means that those who have sacrificed on our behalf for more than a decade and a half (or longer) are being turned-out with little to show for it.
A little closer to home, Newport News Shipyard is scrambling to find alternate commercial business because it looks like future aircraft carrier and submarine construction programs may be in jeopardy”.
The rest of the story….these majors were all passed over for promotion twice. All understood – after the first time – continuation was no longer guaranteed or a right. (You also forgot to mention that each will receive about $125,000 in involuntary separation pay.)
We can’t effectively deal with the debt without touching Defense. And we can’t make defense cuts without drawing down personnel. Congress mandated by year end 2012 the Air Force must draw down to just over a 325,000 force strength. The service already cut loose 3000 enlisted through 2 HYTs. Now it’s time to cut officer ranks and mediocre officers are the first to go. If not this approach, what’s an alternative option?
Also, NNS isn’t scrambling; having almost a decade of advance warning of carrier-work slowdown coming, NNS has directed quite a bit of resources into developing new markets and new partnerships for years.
“. . . – leadership in Washington does need to be changed.”
That’s it? After fifteen historical paragraphs of all what one already knows, eight words provide the superficial conclusion.
Leadership change is moot if realistic economic solutions aren’t attained. Frankly, few in Congress, labeled “crackpots or fringe”, have had the fortitude to address meaningful spending cuts, suspension of world military occupation, and in-depth look at the Federal Reserve misdeeds. Unfortunately, spending is quickly overshadowed with rhetorical tax cuts/increases and tax reformation diversions.
What we need in Congress are leaders who cooperate, changed or not, that are determined to place party loyalty subordinate to our country’s well-being. So long has we have whips and party line votes, we are doomed.
Dick Morris thinks that the Deficit Super Committee’s failure to reach a deficit reduction deal is actually a Victory for Democracy. (thought that Ben Franklin said we were a Republic.)
There are Significant Differences in opinion inside the Beltway.
The Democrats want larger government, more government spending, and higher taxes.
The Republicans want smaller government, less government spending , and lower taxes.
The citizens need to decide the policies they want and tell the politicians what they want in an election.
Democracy in Action in 11 months.
Tried to read the article from the link provided and got a Malicious web site block warning from Norton.. Can’t make this stuff up..
Try again, Turbo. Looks like an extra “http://” found its way in front of the code. That’s been removed.
Wally – thanks for your support. You also have to begin the discussion somewhere. This was the first time, for that audience, that I have written about the debt. I would imagine in subsequent columns that I will write with greater clarity about what it means to Hampton Roads, what things we might want to consider doing with out, how to best prepare and manage the coming cuts – or collapse, etc.
That fixed it JR, Norton paranoia settings just doing their job I guess.
As for leadership change is it safe to presume he also include gop leaderhsip that have ill gotten gains that must go?
I found much with which I agree in your piece. However, your focus on the debt, not the deficit, is disturbing to me.
The Commissions that have studied the structural imbalances that have led us to our current fiscal position all acknowledged that in order to prevent more suffering and disrutpion, the major challenge in recovering from the past failures was to provide a safety net, stimulate jobs and economic recovery, and agree to start retrenching from these expenditures in 2013 when recovery is fully in place.
This is in contrast to those who wanted immediate reduction in the budget, with no thought to the devastating effects these immediate cuts would cause to business recovery, much less to most of our citizens. One only has to look at England that forced extreme enforced austerity to see the effects when government retrenches too fast. I think London is closed today.
So yes, annual budget debt has increased, but so long as Legislators commit to more long term cuts, increased revenue, entitlement reform, and tax reform, we may still yet come out of this period of irrational fiscal irresponsibility without more damage than has already occured.
The big deal proposed by Simpson Bowles is the best blue print I have seen. It could still be the blue print if republicans would refute Norquist’s pledge, and instead, do what is best for America.
Mike there are a lot of possible responses to what you wrote, but the simple one is this – why is it that whenever there are cuts to be made Tax Payers (remember them ?) are always told if they just spend a little more today they’ll get it all back tomorrow. How about this, come up with a plan that gives Tax Payers cuts TODAY and you can have your spending tomorrow.
Outrageous overtly political failure and the super committee are synonymous. How could a committee be formed to handle this crisis not be locked in until they make a deal and come up with some kind of answer? Why are our representatives so lame that they can’t come up with a deal? Our representatives do not feel enough pain and their social lives are unimpacted enough to force them to do the fucking job they campaigned for!! You people should be pissued off at your local rep if they failed this competency test!! Remember the huge mess the dems said the gop handed them? THIS is THE mess! Obama needs this kind of mess to win… its preserving the post 2016 Obama legacy.
I must respectively disagree with Mr. Barrett’s accepted solution. In my humble opinion, procrastination only intensifies the debt service compounding aspects of both the national debt and budget deficit. It is incongruous to buy into the concept that there is a way to ease into a recovery without any additive economic discomfort in the short term. A serious, severe solution is necessary to front load any panacea-like long term answer.
Virginia depends way too much on the Feds. Just look at the Federal taxes we pay and compare it to what we get in return. We’re going to get hit, and get hit hard.
Well Wally, I simply do not agree that the solution that I have supported, one made by Simpson Bowles and by the gang of six, involves procrastination at all. In fact, that is simply not true.
By agreeing now to the grand fix in the range of a $4 trillion reduction in the deficit, the course is set and subsequent Congresses must comply. This would immediately calm the markets and remove the threat of a downgrade. It would frankly be achievable if the ratio of 3-1 were used; that is, reductions of entitlements and expenditures of three times the increases in taxes/revenue.
But while all but the most extreme democrats would agree to this formula, not one of the 98% or so of republicans who have signed Norquist’s tax pledge could even consider this fix. So despite taking an oath of office, they have put Norquist’s pledge in first place; they simply can’t take the benefit of three times more reductions in expenditures in return for 1 unit of increased revenue.
Lastly, if this solution were to be agreed to, our economy would receive the jolt it needs to get back to full production, and it would happen quickly. Essentially, political gridlock caused by Norquist’s pledge is the greatest impediment to prosperity that we face.
Everyone keeps talking about the debt committee failure, but there was no failure. The compromise was reached in the summer. The concept of a debt committee was a decoy to give both parties cover for agreeing to things their own party did not like. This way the parties can blame the parts of the compromise their constituents don’t like on the other party. Politicians are much smarter than journalists and voters.
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