The "Cutters"

The mantra among the most recently elected at the national as well as the state level is:  "Cut, Cut, Cut.   We spend too much.  We have to cut."

It may be true that spending is outpacing income but solution to the problem is not as simplistic as cut, cut, cut.

These are my thoughts about things:

Who are these people who are responding to the mantra?   Are these people truly in tune with the financial realities of most Americans?  Probably not many in the recently elected freshman congressional class as this summary of their wealth indicates.

Not all cuts are equal.  Some cuts are "penny-wise, pound foolish".  And it's not always just about the money.  Read the report about how cutting mental health services does not save money in the long run.

Numerous politicians and "talking heads" have drawn the analogy of government spending to a family budget:  If you're spending more than you take in, then you cut back on your spending.  But from my life experience, that's not the only way the problem gets solved.

Sometimes there are basic necessities, like food, heat, shelter, transportation, etc., which can be cut back on but may reach a point that real hardship or danger arises.  At that point an additional source of income has to be sought out:  a second job, a different job, more people in the household working, accepting charity, etc.  Sometimes that will be only temporary until the family gets a better footing; sometimes it may be much longer.

For the government I think it means not only cutting (and I think there are many things we can cut--not the least of which is in the wars we are involved in inside three countries, and  U.S. troops deployed in 150 countries) but finding ways to raise revenue to pay for the welfare of our citizens.  That may mean a more progressive tax system.

Politics has reached  a terrible "no-negotiation" stage.  Politicians say, we were elected to do something and we'll do it our way, or no way.  Well, that doesn't approach doesn't lead to satisfactory results in life or in government.

I think there needs to be an in-depth conversation about what we as a country, as a people, really value.  And how can we make sure that we do right by those things and people we value.

Do we really just value the "bottom line"?  Right now that seems to be the case.