Right now, the Democrats and the GOP have reached an impasse over how to solve the budget deficit. In short, the GOP wants all savings to come from budget cuts, and none from taxes. The Democrats are proposing about 17% of the savings to come from closing tax loopholes.
In past times, when this sort of thing has happened, compromises were reached, with roughly half of the savings coming from cuts and half from taxes. But we are living in an age where compromise is a dirty word, and we need to find some middle ground.
What I'm trying to do is simply start a 'meme' here. The politicians are waiting for the public to provide enough support to push the negotiations in one direction or another. I believe that the Democrats (worst poker players ever!) are asking for too little, and we need to return to the classic 50-50 compromise.
How is this supposed to work?
I have no experience with politics or grassroots movements. I've started a simple one-issue facebook page where all you have to do is click on the 'like' button. I'm hoping that you will also click on the little facebook 'f' that's just below the title of this blog post. If for some reason this resonates with enough people, we'll take the next step and share this info with the politicians. I'm hoping some of you are better at this than I am, and have some good advice too!
Maybe this is a crazy idea, maybe not. Either way, I don't expect this situation to last for long. What do you think?
3 comments:
From the LA TIMES today, about the budget the Governor signed: "Already, the plan contains severe cuts, including reductions of about 23% to public universities, raising the price of medical care for the poor, closing senior centers and cutting welfare grants and cash aid for the elderly and disabled. Seventy state parks are slated for closure, community college fees are on the rise and mental health programs will be trimmed heavily."
Geoff, it looks like the parties have already compromised ... between the rich, young, well educated and fully able; and the elderly, poor, students, and disabled. Not very civil, or community-minded, but here in California, perhaps we no longer need or want to be civil or community-minded.
The amazing thing is, in CA, the Repubs, having demanded that the budget be balanced by cutting programs, with no tax increases, are now demanding that none of the cuts be made in their districts. I say make ALL of the cuts in their districts.
Jeff,
I'm not sure, but I think it's possible. Because there were no taxes involved, they didn't need the Republican votes, so they could cut just about anywhere!
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