By Carol Lucas
As I sit here and write, it is one week until the projected time when, supposedly, the government will go into default. D-Day! Cataclysm! Financial devastation! And what is Congress doing? Going home for the long Memorial Day weekend. Business as usual.
So if even half of the Doomsday projection is true, our country which is still climbing out of a close call with recession, will be pushed back into a dubious position, which many speculate will have dire consequences, not just for our country but throughout the world. Loss of jobs, the figures of which have been increasing over the past year. Rising interest rates which have already escalated exponentially. The list is enough to terrify anyone who is paying the least bit of attention. Sadly, this seems to be to the delight of some who see it as a way to make political hay.
I think we all have heard the story of how Nero played the fiddle while Rome burned; this analogy is often used to portray indifference to something of catastrophic proportions. First, it must be noted that while Nero was a musician (he played the lyre), the fiddle did not exist at that time. More importantly, Nero was said to be 35 miles away when the fire started. However, according to one source (History.com), he did use the fire to further his political agenda which included clamping down on the growing influence of Christians in Rome. It is said that he executed and tortured hundreds on the pretext that they had started the fire.
Now you can take from this legend anything you wish, but frankly I see some parallels to what is happening in today’s standoff between Speaker McCarthy and the Biden Administration.
Here are a few facts to be considered when viewing this debacle. First, our country has never defaulted on its debt. Yes, there is the first time for everything, but do we really want to test the waters on this issue? Second, each side must engage in what has become a dirty word: compromise. On March 9, President Biden brought forth his administration’s budget proposal. At that time he said to McCarthy, in essence, “I’ll show you mine, and you show me yours.”
McCarthy, as recently as last week said that he was ready back in March to begin talking about this. However, he failed to add that as of that time he had no proposal to submit. So my question is simply, “Talk about what?”
As for Congress leaving town, the excuse provided was that it gives those legislators time to go home and rest as well as be away from one another and the inside bickering that is evidently taking place. No one recognizes more than I that getting away from stress and spending some relaxing time with family can do a world of good. Having been retired from teaching for 25 years, I haven’t forgotten looking forward to this long Memorial Day weekend before returning for the final hurrah – administering finals, correcting said finals, calculating grades for the last nine weeks as well as for the year. The list seemed endless at the time, but thankfully it always concluded on an up note.
So yes, I understand that a bit of a breather before rushing to the finish line is good. However, I humbly suggest that a lot of prior planning had to take place for my 125-plus students to get those final reports. I have to believe that those in Congress who are involved in this caterpillar race have had plenty of time to prepare for their final product. Perhaps Matt Gaetz best summed up the attitude of those on the Congressional side when he stated, “I don’t know why we would negotiate with our hostage.” Ah, Mr. Gaetz, that comment speaks volumes.
I will never support wanton spending. While I am a social liberal, I am decidedly a fiscal conservative. My mother taught me the fine art of saving money wherever possible, and those lessons have served me well. Furthermore, I am all about cutting the fat from the budget. The problem is defining where the fat lies, and both sides should consider a fat-free diet.
But when I see the number of loopholes that have been created over the years for the very wealthy and recognize the reluctance of those in Congress to touch that Holy Grail, I become angry. By doing away with even some of those loopholes, the government could attain much more revenue. Yet, the so-called trickle-down approach has been at the top of the agenda for Republicans since the time of Reagan and before. And on the other end of the spectrum, I definitely agree that able bodied individuals who are on welfare should be taken from the welfare rolls. We know that there are jobs to be had; one only has to count the number of “Hiring” signs in his own town to know the jobs are there.
By the time this piece is published, we may well have a budget that will pull us back from the brink of financial chaos, although, rest assured, another form of chaos will be right there to step in and raise the anxiety of the populace. As long as we have a situation in the House of Representatives where the Speaker is at the mercy of a few, roiling the waters will be a constant.
Keep in mind that McCarthy is the man who chose to send January 6 tapes to Tucker Carlson whom even FOX could no longer tolerate. We know those tapes were used by Carson to bill the insurrection that day as “mostly peaceful chaos.” Additionally it is accepted that the Speaker of the House is at the mercy of a small group who put him there, and they have their own agenda. All told, this man is nothing more than a puppet.
It’s hard to think that we have people in power that would gleefully see our country go over the cliff just to make the opposing administration look bad. But there you have it. Until we get back to the position of having rational people in a decision-making capacity, where the good surpasses the greed, we are destined to see more of the same. Should an agreement be reached, and certainly I hope it is, make no mistake, there are still those whose thoughts will wander to “there’s always the next time.”
Carol Lucas is a retired high school teacher and a Lady’s Island resident. She is the author of the recently published “A Breath Away: One Woman’s Journey Through Widowhood.”
