The Republicans, allowing themselves to be manipulated by an alt-right minority, have managed to damage the reputation of the United States in the global financial sphere. While in the meantime, millions of Americans are being held hostage by lawmakers who think the best way to balance the budget is for more American children to go hungry, and for more disabled people to be without the health care they need. It’s insane and senseless. The best way for America to get out of the financial hole that it has dug for itself is to invest in its future–its children.
Let’s face facts. There is no way to balance the budget without the very rich paying their fair share. This doesn’t mean we have to vilify anybody, and it doesn’t mean we are punishing anybody. It means that the very rich got to be very rich vis-a-vis infrastructure, tax incentives, and what might very well be termed corporate welfare. All we are asking is for those at the very top acknowledge that their wealth could not have accrued had it not been for the tax dollars of those at the middle and bottom. This nation is indeed facing a crisis. It is time for the wealthiest to give back, do their patriotic duty, be a part of the solution. And we are not talking about huge changes. That will not be necessary. At a time of crisis the wealthiest can stomach modest increases in taxes, understanding that is part of their role as citizens.
To instead literally take food from the mouths of hungry children is the worst possible course of action at this point. This disinvestment in Ameriac’’s future will only cause this nation to dig itself in deeper. Failure to spend the resources we have wisely is what got us here. SNAP, child care, pre-K–we know that things like this pay for themselves many, many times over, over the long term. They are necessities to bringing our fiscal house in order.
If you want to talk about things we can’t afford, we can’t afford the consequences of one more hungry child living in poverty while one or both parents work full-time. We cannot afford the financial repercussions of untreated mental illness and drug addiction. Consider the costs of cops who do not have the support of the communities they are trying to serve. If the Republicans would like to reduce spending in human services, they should work to reduce hyper-incarceration and address the incredible financial toll the opioid epidemic is placing on criminal justice systems in the rust belt. If you really want to make financially sound decisions, create programs that ensure everyone who wants to go to college can–that they contribute their time and talents to the overall economy instead of ending up resorting to welfare in the first place.
Trickle down doesn’t work. It didn’t in the 80’s it won’t a generation later. The only way out of this debt crisis is to stop disinvesting in our future.
Progressive Without Apology 