“It is easy to harp about the size
of government and deficit spending. It is easy to say we are “taxed
enough already.” What is harder is for congressmen and women to
demonstrate the political will to take action that impacts everyone in
the country in the pocketbook…”

When Paul O’Neill was appointed Treasury Secretary, some of us were hopeful that something positive would come out of the George W. Bush presidency, which seemed to be heading for mediocrity before September 11, 2001. O’Neill was CEO of Alcoa, and through conversations with friends and business associates who worked there and knew O’Neill, all indications were that it was a well managed company. If O’Neill could do for the country, what he had done at Alcoa, then there was hope.

In an often reported dialogue with Vice President Dick Cheney, O’Neill warned that the surpluses of the Clinton administration had dissipated and that growing budget deficits, that were expected to hit half a trillion dollars at the time, threatened the economy.  Cheney responded, “You know, Paul, Reagan proved deficits don’t matter. We won the midterms. This is our due.” It was a defining moment in the Bush-Cheney administration. O’Neill was fired soon after this discussion.

In Iowa, there are 15 challengers to the three incumbent Democrats in congress. They frame themselves as conservatives and some express anger at the spending that is going on in Washington. No one wants to burden our children and grandchildren with the debt that is mounting from the financial crisis about which O’Neill warned us. Part of me wonders where these folks have been during the last ten years. More importantly, what do they propose to do about it?

It is fair to ask these conservatives whether they will support President Obama’s plan. On February 18, President Obama signed an executive order creating a bipartisan national commission on fiscal responsibility and reform, saying we need to make “the tough choices necessary to solve our fiscal problems,” putting “everything on the table” for discussion. This isn’t rocket science. Reducing the federal deficit boils down some combination of improving the economy so there are more tax revenues, controlling spending and changing the tax structure so as to yield more revenue. Before Obama’s executive order, both houses of congress considered creating the commission, but could not find the votes. In the Senate, the vote was 53-46 in favor, but in the cynical 111th Congress, it takes 60 Senate votes to get anything done.

Whatever one thinks of the president’s commission, it will produce recommendations, hopefully by the end of 2010. The consideration then will be what Congress will do about the recommendations. Some in Congress are calling for an up or down vote on these recommendations and to this writer; having such a vote seems to be a viable course of action. If such a vote would fail, Congress needs try again and soon, as the issue is too important to go unaddressed.

On Saturday, a small group of us sat down with Congressman Loebsack in the 2nd District to provide feedback. I asked how Congress should address deficit spending. Loebsack framed up an answer along the lines of this post and he has come to understand the congressional dynamics that make this a complex and challenging issue.

As progressives we should not let conservative talk dominate the air waves. It is easy to harp about the size of government and deficit spending. It is easy to say we are “taxed enough already.” What is harder is for congressmen and women to demonstrate the political will to take action that impacts everyone in the country in the pocketbook, which is what the commission’s recommendations, or any other solution, seems certain to do.

Congressman Loebsack understands that there are no easy answers and that is something the conservatives seem reluctant to admit. We should not let them get away with natty sound bites and pabulum, but should bird dog them and call them out on their vapidity. Democrats will be the ones to resolve deficit spending and we shouldn't let up.

~Paul
Deaton is a native Iowan living in rural Johnson County and weekend
editor of Blog for Iowa. He is also a member of Iowa Physicians for
Social Responsibility and Veterans for Peace. E-mail Paul
Deaton