U.S. religious leaders urge moral solution to debt talks
Don’t balance the U.S. budget on the backs of the poor and sick, religious leaders said, suggesting that their churches’ charity work is already overstretched and social havoc could result if the government’s social safety net is abandoned.
Representatives from Protestant, Jewish, Muslim and interfaith groups and churches expressed their collective disappointment with the tone of blame in the debt debate between President Obama and congressional negotiators.
The faith groups have organized a vigil alongside the U.S. Capitol and released a letter appealing to the president and Congress to consider the poor and vulnerable in their negotiations.
“The middle class are being crushed. The poor see no hope from getting up from the doldrums of despair and whole communities are facing struggles with joblessness, crime, addictions, violence, and lack the basic necessities of food, shelter, clothing, and adequate education. While these struggles exist in communities, we are witnessing our president and Congress engaging in political posturing, while bickering for power and control,” Rev. Herbert Nelson of the Presbyterian Church USA said.
“It’s time for people of faith to step up and say we as Americans can do better,” The Reverend Canon Peg Chemberlin, president of the National Council of Churches said. She could not believe Americans would abandon the poor to “maintain tax loopholes,” illustrating the support among the faith leaders for more revenues favored by Democrats. However, they also pointed to the need to examine the defense budget for savings.
The concern, Nelson said, should be that social havoc could follow draconian budget cuts. “Poverty isn’t going to be contained,” he said. “No bars on windows, no gated communities are going to stop people desperate to feed their families.”
Nelson said he has spoken to people with wealth who are willing to pay more in taxes if it would help people, and he said he was surprised at the resistance to the rich paying more.
Is Rand Paul a U.S. Senate action hero?
It didn’t take Rand Paul long to become Captain America of the U.S. Senate. He’s tough-minded, strong-willed and he’s ready to battle the most dangerous titans on the political landscape, like Social Security and Medicare.
In fact, the Republican Tea Party favorite from Kentucky tells MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that a courageous and comprehensive plan for fixing America’s public finances will soon be on the march. And if all goes as planned, much may be accomplished before the start of this year’s Major League Baseball season.
“Within two to three weeks, I’m going to propose a fix for Social Security,” says Rand, son of Ron, who has already far surpassed the fiscal aims of the Republican leadership on Capitol Hill by proposing $500 billion in budget cuts.
“We’re going to fix the budget the first week. The second month, I’m going to fix Social Security and then the third month, we’re going to work on Medicare,” he adds, with tongue somewhat in cheek.
At the moment, his blueprint for Medicare still amounts to “a secret plan.” But on Social Security, we can expect what other Republicans are avoiding: an increase in the retirement age and means testing for wealthier beneficiaries.
Paul says the difference between him and other Republicans is that he’s “unafraid” of voter reaction: “If you talk frankly and speak boldly, you’ll get more people to vote for you.”
Another important difference is that his brave ambitious plans are unlikely to succeed at a time when congressional leaders seem increasingly unwilling to consider large-scale reductions. Look at it this way: the GOP’s bold campaign pledge to cut 2011 spending by $100 billion shrank first to about $50 billion and now to $32 billion.
Comedy that’s a good analogy, the whole political system in america is rife with comedians. Yet perhaps we need more goofballs like Rand Paul and his father. The last time the economy and the country was in this type of shape. Huge corporations extremely wealthy individuals no middle class. Teddy roosevelt became president. He was most definitely a waco and a goofball but he got the job done. So for me bring on the mental cases, what the hey that can’t do any worse then the rational sane politicians that america has….
Peterson Foundation launches OweNo campaign on U.S. debt
While the ads are humorous, the subject is serious.
Fictional presidential candidate Hugh Jidette (pronounced huge debt) will soon be making a pitch for more U.S. debt held by foreign countries in television ads that will be appearing across the country.
The tongue-in-cheek spots are actually trying to drive home to the American public the consequences of failing to tackle huge debt increases facing the United States if lawmakers fail to balance the annual budget and continue to run deficits.
The nation’s debt now stands at $13.7 trillion and will hit the statutory credit limit of $14.3 trillion in the spring. At that point Congress must vote to raise the credit limit to keep the country from going into default.
The $6 million “OweNo” ad campaign is sponsored by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, an organization devoted to getting lawmakers to act on the long-term fiscal imbalances facing the United States. The foundation was established by Peter Peterson, an investment banker who served in the Nixon administration.
Lawmakers will have to make politically unpopular decisions to cut spending and raise revenues to put the country’s long-term accounts into better balance, Peterson said at a news conference.
The ads are aimed at building public acceptance of those tough decisions. Peterson said the situation is at a point where lawmakers need to act sooner, rather than later.
Few would defend the integrity and ethics of most of our elected leaders. Yet such qualities of the highest order are precisely what the American People have called for, for two decades now. As long as the Oligarchs(bankers) maintain their patrons in congress(democrats and republicans), I have no expectation of anything resembling moral conduct regarding public policy to come from Washington.