Every New Year brings a time of renewal, new resolution, hope for a better year ahead. Unfortunately, at this point (Tuesday evening, 9:30 p.m., EST) we don’t know if the Republicans in the House of Representatives will pass the compromise worked out last night by the U.S. Senate.
Some features in that compromise I don’t like very much, but that’s what makes it a compromise. Provisions I do like very much are that the estate tax increases (though not by much), capital gains taxes increase (though not by much), taxes on people making $450,000 go up (thought not be enough), and unemployment benefits continue for two million Americans. The important point, of course, is that we don’t hurtle over the “fiscal cliff.”
I must point out that the Republican House members were elected in free elections. Yes, the districts were gerrymandered. Yes, states had voter suppression laws in place. Nonetheless, millions of people voted for House candidates who, by any standard of reasonableness, were nuts. In Carbon County a majority of voters voted for Smith over Casey for U.S. Senate. Smith was, to be kind, a demagogue and extremist.
That old cliche that a country gets the kind of government it deserves never appealed to me. On the other hand, something like 80% of the American public believes we could balance the federal budget by cutting foreign aid. Foreign aid makes up less than one percent of the federal budget. Stupid voters elect stupid representatives. I am not optimistic about 2013.
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