Taking the Pledge

The failure of the Congressional supercommittee to reach a deficit reduction compromise is being hailed and attacked as a victory for Grover Norquist and his Americans for Tax Reform organization. For those not familiar with Norquist and his outfit, they are dedicated to the proposition that the fewer the taxes levied on the public the better. Moreover, Norquist has signed up almost every Republican of note to a pledge never to vote for another tax increase. Thus, any compromise by GOP lawmakers that included additional taxes, especially on the wealthy, would have been a violation of the non-binding but politically pragmatic oath they signed.

Speaking to NPR today, Norquist discounted any criticism from members of the Grand Old Party, such as David Stockman, Ronald Reagan’s budget director, that his pledge ran counter to the national interest. “They’re no longer Republicans,” he reasoned.

I won’t venture into purely Republican internal squabbles, but I would like to suggest an alternative to the no new taxes pledge. How’s about a pledge that in the richest country in the world we don’t let children go to sleep hungry; or that we provide workers with a livable wage; that we don’t allow corporate executives to reap huge bonuses while everyday workers are laid off or have their wages and benefits slashed; that we don’t reduce veterans’ benefits; that we provide affordable health care to all who need it; that we protect our citizens from unscrupulous corporate greed, unsafe products, pollution, and unsafe working conditions?

Conservatives would say I’m advocating a welfare state, that in this land of opportunity if you just worked hard you’d have everything you require or want without the need for government intervention or assistance. Sadly, they are not only mistaken, they are also ignorant, for history has shown time and again that without government oversight and control companies and individuals cheat, pollute, harm, oppress, violate the law and take advantage of the less fortunate. The argument that the free market will regulate offenders hardly compensates those who are offended, surely not in a timely manner.

Few people like to pay taxes. But the alternative is either anarchy or a system where the elite live well and the rest of society does not.


No Sympathy: I don’t have much sympathy, check that, I have no sympathy, for the laid off workers from the financial sector, as depicted in a NY Times article today (http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/11/21/wall-st-layoffs-take-heavy-toll-on-younger-workers/?scp=1&sq=sam%20meek&st=cse).

Oodles and oodles of dollars were made over the last 20 years by Wall Street practitioners cobbling together mergers and acquisitions, LBOs and IPOs, managing hedge funds that only the wealthy could afford to invest in. At the end of the day, any day, though they made tons of money they hardly ever produced anything tangible, of lasting value. They destroyed as many companies as they saved.

Tell me, what child or teenager, except the Michael J. Fox character Alex P. Keaton in Family Ties, wakes up and says, “When I grow up I want to be an investment banker”? No, I’d wager the idea of Wall Street first entered their brain when they read or saw movies about the fast and luxurious life of financial honchos.

Assuming many of these unemployed financial types are good with numbers, perhaps they should reconnect with some down to earth values and look into teaching math. I understand there’s a real need for math teachers in many school districts.

I’m apparently not alone in my unsympathetic response. Check out the feedback to the original Times article: http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/11/22/for-distressed-young-bankers-a-symphony-of-small-violins/?scp=2&sq=sam%20meek&st=cse

No New Taxes

It's playing out on national, state and local levels, the latest being Minnesota where trying to pass a budget without raising taxes has led to a partial shutdown of services. What does no new taxes, coupled with the mantra of a balanced budget, really mean?

A lower quality of life for all but the richest of our society.

It means cuts in mass transportation subsidies. Cuts in medical benefits and research. Cuts in education. Cuts in park and recreation facilities. Cuts in veterans benefits. Cuts in food safety. Cuts in drug inspections. Cuts in clean air and water control. Cuts in labor safety laws. Cuts in anti-discrimination enforcement. Cuts in law enforcement. Cuts in fire protection services. Cuts in financial regulatory services. Cuts in prison systems.

It means overcrowding on subways and buses. It means higher fees for medical services. More crowded emergency rooms. More students per teacher in the classroom. Fewer opportunities to visit our national heritage monuments, and when you do get the chance, you'll be cheek to jowl with your fellow citizens during the restricted hours of operation. Fewer programs to reward military veterans for their service to the country. More danger and uncertainty each time you swallow a pill or a morsel of food. Each time you drink water or breathe air. More danger that you'll work in an unsafe environment, that your supervisor will be able to discriminate against you. More danger from criminals walking the street because an overcrowded prison system cannot take any more inmates, more danger from fire not being contained fast enough to save lives or structures, from schemers plotting to steal your investment money.

It's a very seductive message, no new taxes and a balanced budget. Hardly anyone likes to pay taxes, though my father used to say he'd welcome the prospect of having to pay $100,000 in taxes because it would mean he'd have had a very successful year.

There's a deeper meaning to the siren call of no new taxes and a balanced budget. By resisting higher taxes on the wealthy, by resisting cutting tax loopholes and subsidies for selective industries, Republicans are saying it's okay if those on Main Street have to pay more for essential services, just don't tax me and my friends on the Gold Coast and Wall Street, we who live in gated communities with private security forces, we who send our children to private schools, we who can afford the best doctors and medical care money can buy.

The most fascinating question in politics today is how mainstream Americans have accepted a political party and ideology counter to their best economic interests. The working and middle classes have latched onto a party committed to their perpetual serfdom. Equally at fault are Democratic leaders who have not embraced the changing values of the electorate for a leaner and more responsive government.

No new taxes. To win back voters, Democrats must forcefully explain the implications of no new taxes and a balanced budget. They must graphically show what a Republican/Tea Party budget would mean to daily life in America. Perhaps a series of 15 second commercials depicting just what would be lost is in order. Fifteen seconds to describe cuts to veterans services. Fifteen seconds to describe cuts to food and drug inspections. Fifteen seconds to describe cuts to Medicare and Social Security programs. Fifteen seconds to describe cuts to mass transit, including air traffic safety. Fifteen seconds to describe cuts to air and water quality. Fifteen seconds to describe cuts to police and fire departments, to the Wall Street and bank regulators, to the prison system.

It's time to go on the offensive.