April 17, 2011

In Budget Debate, Democrats and Republicans Reassess Government's Role - NYTimes.com

The good news is that Congress finally seems to be paying sufficient attention to the impossibility of continuing to borrow more than 40% of every dollar it spends. The bad news is this will be an arduous and brutal battle between ideologies likely punctuated by, if not culminating in, the 2012 election.

   This election will likely be a referendum of the these competing ideologies with the future well-being of the country at stake. I think the 'limited government' view of necessity has the upper hand now because the status quo will lead to bankruptcy. [update 041811... S&P creating a negative outlook for U.S. debt should not be ignored]
   The class warfare symbolized by the mantras of 'tax the rich' and 'punish the less fortunate' I hope will fall on deaf ears and lead to a relalistic compromise such that all elements of our citizenry have skin in the game leading to a rational solution ... in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity...'

"The battle ahead “is the big one, and goes to the very major questions about the role of government,” said G. William Hoagland, a former Republican staff director of the Senate Budget Committee. “This is going to be a very fundamental clash of ideologies.”The Democratic and Republican Parties have their own internal tensions to address as the debate goes forward in Congress and on the presidential campaign trail. But in its early stages at least, it is liberals who are on the defensive.The aging of the baby boom generation and the costs of maintaining Medicare and Social Security have put the two pillars of the social welfare system on the table for re-examination. The growing weight of the national debt has given urgency to the question of whether the government has become too big and expensive."

The whole Stevenson column is well worth the read.

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