The Tea Party may be a small group of people, but they certainly are active in the South Atlanta Area. Recently, they have been compared to terrorists that are “holding the economy hostage.” But how accurate is that?
First off, the GOP-controlled House, with many Tea Party freshmen, passed a budget drafted by Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan, a Republican. How long has it been since the Democrat-controlled Senate passed a budget? Oh, that’s right, eight years.
Second, the House then passed Cut, Cap, and Balance. This bill cut spending drastically, raised the debt ceiling some, and paved the way for a balanced budget amendment. It was never voted on in the Senate, but merely tabled.
Lastly, Speaker John Boehner of Ohio passed a bill through his House that was widely disliked by Tea Party House members. The Senate killed this too.
Does anyone else find it odd that the only bill to pass on the issue had to come from the Senate, even though it was shockingly similar to the Boehner bill?
As we continue down the path to a bigger government, people need to think of the system we are headed for in this country. Not just a welfare state, but socialism. The bigger the government gets, the more people become dependent on it, less people work, and eventually the entire system fails.
Now, as the last debt debacle writer claimed, an “ill-defined counter movement” has managed to get their ideas into the majority of people’s minds. According to Gallup Poll, 42 percent of people wanted their representatives to vote against the debt-ceiling hike, and only 22 percent were in favor of the hike.
While neither side has a majority over 50 percent, more people would rather see major cuts than raising the debt-ceiling.
As another response to Mr. Parker, if anyone in Washington covers their eyes and hides from reality, it would be Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, his caucus in the Senate, and President Obama.
In the House, Cut, Cap, and Balance passed on partisan support, even if it was slight. All three bills that have crossed over to the Senate have been killed by only Democrats.
I can agree with Mr. Parker in that there is no hope. After the passage of the debt-ceiling hike, there is less hope that the country will recover from this insane debt. Simply handing over a higher credit limit when the country is already over $14 trillion in debt makes no sense. Would a credit card company raise the limit if a card were maxed out? The answer is no and that should have been how Congress replied to this ridiculous request.
Yes, the debt ceiling had been raised under Ronald Reagan, but it was to cover already promised debts and no more. While this recent hike did cover some bills already promised, it also allows Congress to authorize more spending, which we have no room for at the time.
Luckily, this action prevented President Obama from having to use the 14th Amendment improperly. This amendment was in part for the Civil War to pardon the debts of the former Confederate states.
Sadly, most of the international community already considers the USA to be much less powerful than we were mere years ago. Granted, Europe is not in a much better position, but many countries, including Israel, do not consider the USA as they used to.
While many people believe Tea Party members to be too radical and unable to compromise, it’s because they believe in their ideals. Michele Bachmann has proven many times that she believes the country can survive if Congress authorizes major cuts and a balanced budget amendment.
In addition, no matter how much President Obama and the other Democrats blame President George W. Bush for this economy, President Obama has been in office long enough that he could have proven his policies if they worked. Instead, he has proved that he can keep an unemployment rating higher than 9 percent.
Mr. Parker very well could be accurate in saying the slide is about to get more uncomfortable; that is, if President Obama stays in office.
Joe Zerkus
Fayetteville, Ga.
[The writer is a freshman at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.]
