The day was March 28, 2012. It’s the day Congress officially — with both parties in majority agreement — killed the Simpson-Bowles Plan.
This was a well-researched plan that could have:
- Reduced our debt while growing the economy
- Encouraged all segments of American society to sacrifice and work together to make our country truly great again.
- Given us common sense and consensus.
It’s easy to blame both Republicans and Democrats. They deserve it based on their corruption by special interest money.
But we also need to blame Obama and then-Speaker John Boehner. They pulled the plug on a plan that would have saved America. They both knew this was the last gasp at sanity that was researched and debated by many sides of the political and economic divide. This was American consensus at its best.
But Obama and Boehner never made an effort to sell it to Congress. As leaders, they failed us.
Why the lack of spine? Alan Simpson, the co-author of this plan, said neither of them would have been re-elected. So much for sacrificing for the nation.
If Simpson-Bowles was enacted five years ago, we would be moving toward a more solid economic recovery with promising long-term implications in the 21st Century economy.
Instead, we have sheer idiocy in Washington.
- Look at healthcare reform. It is not that difficult – unless you’re being paid off by special interests.
- Both political parties have extremist factions that defy economic reality. There’s a reason that Trump and Bernie supporters were not too different ideologically. Both parties are psycho-Keynesians while a small faction wants to just cut, cut, cut with no sense of direction.
- Trump does not understand domestic or world economics. He is a reality show host gathering ratings for himself, not a businessman who knows how to solve problems.
- Our population contains too many self-interested people such as Medicare recipients who can’t realize they are living off taxpayers. Why isn’t Medicare part of entitlement reform? (Hey, I’m speaking against my own interests here.)
- The majority of us fail to understand the looming financial disaster over the next 5 to 10 years that will weaken our country not only here but abroad. Read Richard Hasse’s book, A World in Disarray, where he explains how national debt around the world is helping to cause massive disorder.
- Too many of us pay attention to the reality TV show that is politics. We have failed to look at the solutions that we so desperately need.
Sadly, the best solutions were in the Simpson-Bowles plan. And we could have had them for five years now. Sure, some will say it was not perfect. Maybe, but it was at least very good and worth implementing.
Remember this date: March 28, 2012. History may mark it as the downfall of American Civilization as we knew it.
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