In the wake of the Senate vote this week on tax rates, you hear described in two different ways from two different Senators on today's program. The 'tax rate' we're referring to is to eliminate the Bush Tax Cuts for income over $250,000. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said it was defeated in a bipartisan effort hence leaving things in place. Conversely, Senator John Kerry (D-MA) put the blame solely on the Republicans.
There are two facts you need to know to make your own interpretation of this. One, the final vote was 53-46 in favor of raising the tax rate for income over $250,000. So the measure did, in fact, win the majority. And in those 46 votes, 5 Democrats voted with the Republicans. The reason the measure will not go through is because of the 60-vote 'traditional' consensus that the Senate needs to ratify. So did the measure not really lose? Was the vote bi-partisan?
Mr. Gregory framed the show in terms of 'America's Anxiety,' and there is no doubt that Americans are anxious. What's interesting about the Senators' respectively segments is that Senator McConnell talked in terms of what the American people want as for how they voted in the midterms, but it is Senator Kerry who seemed to understand the true gravity of where America is right now in terms of the rest of the world. And the anxiety extends when we review a vote like the one above. With all due respect to the traditions of the Senate body, this measure should go through, the Democrats should invoke censure. And that's not to even say that the measure is the right thing to do. The Opinion believes that it is, but that's not the point. Americans become anxious about their government when it isn't decisive. There was not doubt that the Bush Administration and the Republican-controlled Congress was decisive and we learn later that some decisions, ok... many decisions were incorrect for the country, but Americans can live with it because it was taking action. The inaction we're experiencing today is killing this country.
Senator Kerry cited a sad reality. It was in the United States that solar panel technology was invented, but it is now in China where 60% of the world's solar panels are made. Six trillion dollars will be spent in the next 20 years for energy technology, and the United States is in line for only 10%. If you peer into the entrepreneurial future, it's centered on energy technology. Taking the environmental debate out of the question, it is where the money will be as more of the world requires more energy. Why isn't The United States capitalizing on this? Pun intended.
Is this the foundation for the future that President Obama is talking about? Essentially, this is the question that was posed by David Brooks and Tom Friedman of the New York Times during the panel. To properly lay this foundation, we need to get our house in order first of course with what everyone would agree need to be big moves. But frankly, there is no political will on either side of the aisle to make a tough choice. Senator McConnell still refuses any specifics on where the sacrifice is going to come from, and when asked about the bi-partisan appointed Debt Commission, he said the following, "I endorse the effort of the commission..." The effort? He refused to comment on whether he agrees with any of it's recommendations. He continued that he is not going to negotiate on a Sunday talk show. Ok, that's fair enough, but then that answer allows for the latitude to think that he doesn't have the conviction in his ideas to state them on a Sunday talk show. We guess that we'll just have to wait until January to find out what the Republicans are going to do. They are holding up actions that need to be taken, and we agree that Republicans are holding unemployment benefits for those out of work 'hostage,' to use his term, by not extending them unless those tax entitlements are kept in place for the wealthiest 1%.
It is still this larger question that is most disquieting, and that is what direction is America going in and where will we be in terms of the rest of the world in 20 years? Before we jump into that, a couple of quick bits on some of the answers given by the Senators.
First, when Senator McConnell says that he is following the lead of Senator John McCain on D.A.D.T., that means that Republicans in the Senate are going to stall repeal for as long as they can. Whether you want repeal or not, that's the Republican position.
Secondly, Senator Kerry did his best to defend the President and said, in opposition to Mr. Gregory's assertion, that Mr. Obama is not caving in on his beliefs and tough political decisions. Mr. Kerry cited that T.A.R.P. and the Recovery Act were politically unpopular but that the truth is, those measures staved off a much worse economic situation, and there really isn't any question that this is true. Most people would agree that it is, but would debate the merit in saving institutions/businesses that failed. The bottom line is that the President has been a disappointment when it comes to standing up to his political opposition. Mike Murphy, Republican strategist, said during the panel that the President has broken the hearts of the left. That's a bit dramatic, but to the extent that the left have lost pretty much all faith in the President is correct.
Lastly, Senator McConnell called Julian Assange, Wikileaks founder, a high-tech terrorist and Senator Kerry said this latest document dump, 'hurts.' Well, Mr. Assange is not a high-tech terrorist. That doesn't mean we think what he's doing is right, but he is really just a publisher of leaked information. As that publisher, he has put it all into focus - he did not commit the crime. However, we agree with Senator Kerry that it is counter productive to release such information because it doesn't uncover crimes like the Pentagon papers did. Ultimately, however, these leaked documents give us important perspective. Mr. Friedman, during the panel, illustrated that they show us that the United States is in a vicious cycle of addiction to oil and credit. We get the cash from China and then give it to the Saudis for their oil. They in turn take the money and fund terrorism against us. We borrow more money from China to combat the terrorism. Ms. Kay summed it up by saying that it made a superpower's power look not so super.
This leads us back to the larger point. America's greatness, and now we have to say re-emergence, is dependent on our ability to determine our own future. But if you look at Mr. Friedman's example, we're denying ourselves that ability. Senator Kerry said that we can not cut our way to greatness, but we do need to cut those respective controlling influence over us. What Senator Kerry was referring to were tax cuts and weakening government.
As a frame of reference, Katty Kay, from the BBC, pointed out that in Europe people have taken to the streets to demand more from their governments whereas in the United States the call is for government to stay out of the way. Mr. Friedman mentioned that we need a hybird approach, but what he really meant was a balance of philosophies. As Senator McConnell said, we have to figure out a way to work together. As this limbo lingers, no one benefits.
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