David Brooks and Bob Herbert hit the nail on the head

David Brooks writes in a New York Times op-ed that "this has been a great month for conversation" about the reducing the debt and deficit of the US and reforming the US government. But, as he admits, none of this talk is going anywhere. Congressional leaders have no confidence that any changes will be made soon to fix the fiscal mess that the United States is in.  

Mr. Brooks blames the Republicans for fighting against any tax increase whatsoever, even though tax increases must be part of the solution when the deficit is $1.3 trillion this year alone. He blames the Democrats for fighting over the direction of their own party and faults the liberal wing of the Democratic party since it is unwilling to accept any any significant spending cuts to entitlements, which are the key drivers of the deficit in the medium and long-term.

So what will happen? Budget gridlock, government gridlock and political gridlock. This is where Mr. Brooks hits the nail on the head:

So we’ve still got budget gridlock. But it’s worth stepping back to acknowledge how abnormal this is. As late as the 1980s and 1990s, Congress did pass serious measures to control debt. Across the Atlantic, Britain is enacting a budget with spending cuts and tax increases. In fact, all affluent countries are now faced with the challenge of reforming their welfare states and few are as immobilized as the U.S. is.

Mr. Brooks argues that American politicians in recent years have ran up huge debts because they are no longer "constrained by a mentality from the founders" and instead view the country "as a battlefield in which the people ... do battle against the interests of the elites."

My two cents: Mr. Brooks is absolutely right that American politicians have changed in recent years. But I disagree with him as to why they have changed.

It's not that politicians now view the country as a battlefield. It's because they are greedy, arrogant, elites that believe they are entitled to whatever they want, much like many Americans.

For example, Mitch McConnell, the Republican minority leader in the Senate, recently said that the number one goal of Republicans in the next two years is to make President Obama a one term president. With unemployment near 10%, the deficit at $1.3 trillion, the number of Americans in poverty at record numbers, millions of Americans losing their homes to foreclosures and the rampant corruption in Washington and on Wall Street, (among others) that is the number one goal of Republicans in the next two years?

It's because there are so many baby boomers in Congress (including Mitch McConnell) that are unwilling to compromise and demand that they get their way every time, without question. That is how many of these people have lived their lives since they were born and that's how they intend to finish their lives.

It's absolutely amazing and astonishing that leaders of both political parties, including the president, are saying that we can continue to cut taxes (on everyone and/or everyone but the rich) and still receive all the benefits that the government has promised. That is not possible in the current fiscal mess.

This sense of entitlement is a common theme throughout America today. As I posted yesterday, the director of the Congressional Budget Office said the following:

The United States faces a fundamental disconnect between services that people expect the federal government to provide, particularly in the form of benefits to older Americans, and the tax revenues that people are willing to send to the government to finance the services.

So how can we fix this fiscal mess? As I posted on Sunday, Michael Kinsley has made a very strong case for the baby boomer generation to make sacrifices in order to save this country from the baby boomer generation. His essay is a great place to start.

Another place to look for solutions is Bob Herbert, also writing an op-ed in the New York Times. Mr. Herbert hits the nail on the head about the current situation we are facing and how we can get out of the mess we are in. What he said can't be summarized without missing much of the important points, so I must post a lot of the column.

Mr. Herbert quotes John F. Kennedy from a speech he delivered as he accepted the Democratic nomination on July 15, 1960. (Emphasis mine)

It became known as the New Frontier speech. The candidate spoke of an old era ending and said that “the old ways will not do.” He spoke of “a slippage in our intellectual and moral strength.” He said:

“The New Frontier of which I speak is not a set of promises; it is a set of challenges. It sums up not what I intend to offer the American people, but what I intend to ask of them. It appeals to their pride, not to their pocketbook. It holds out the promise of more sacrifice instead of more security.”

What Kennedy hoped to foster was a renewed sense of national purpose in which shared values were reinforced in an atmosphere of heightened civic participation and mutual sacrifice. That was the way, he said, “to get this country moving again.”

His voice was in sync with the spirit of the times. Americans were fired with the idea that they could improve their circumstances, right wrongs and do good. The Interstate Highway System, an Eisenhower initiative, was under way. The civil rights movement was in flower. And soon Kennedy would literally be reaching for the moon.

Self-interest and the bottom line had not yet become the be-all and end-all.

... 

While the myriad issues facing the U.S. have changed and changed again since Kennedy’s time, the importance of being guided by the highest principles and ideals has not. We are now in a period in which cynicism is running rampant, and selfishness and greed have virtually smothered all other values. Simple fairness is not a fit topic for political discussion and no one dares even mention the poor.

The public seems fearful and cowed. People unworthy of high office are arrogantly on the march.

You can say whatever you’d like about the Kennedy era and the ’60s in general, but there was great energy in the population then, and a willingness to reach beyond one’s self.

Kennedy spoke in his acceptance speech of a choice “between national greatness and national decline.” That choice was never so stark as right now. There is still time to listen to a voice from half a century ago.

What politician today is asking the American people to sacrifice? I spend a lot of time following politics and there is no one that I know of asking for shared sacrifice. All politicians today, including the president, are promising tax cuts and increased benefits. That is simply not possible. The math does not add up.

As Mr. Herbert says, "selfishness and greed have virtually smothered all other values." We have seen this across the country since Obama took office. Give me my Medicare, but don't make me pay for it. Bailout the banks with no strings attached or the economy will implode into a depression and don't even think about prosecuting me for all my fraudulent practices.

To sum it up, two quotes: As JFK said in his speech, we have a choice "between national greatness and national decline." As Mr. Herbert said today, "the choice was never so stark as right now."

On a related note, Mr. Brooks points out that "Ronald Reagan raised taxes 12 separate times during his presidency." Where is the party of Reagan now? Ronald Reagan was great at compromising and working across the aisle. Where are all the people that claim to be the party of Reagan?