My dear husband recently overheard two gentlemen discussing how "disgusting" it was that President Obama had served Wagyu steak at the White House. They were angry, but not surprised, that the Democratic Administration was already wasting American taxpayer's money on $100 steaks and were placing bets on how long it would be before Obama bankrupted the nation.
My lovely man leaned over and quietly asked the following (good thing he's a big guy), "You're indignant now? You're pro fiscal responsibility now? Where where you two for the last eight years when President Bush was racking up a record $482 billion deficit? Where was your anger at the record deficit spending by a Republican Administration? And since we're on the subject of bankrupting America, you must be furious that not once has the cost of the two wars we're fighting been written into the federal budget."
He was first met with some quibbling, and a return to an Obama personal attack, but then they just went silent. While it's very easy to fall back on partisan personal attacks, it's hard to argue financial facts. We're in a deep, deep economic hole whose origins are not of the last four weeks. The blind eye and the rubber stamp were awfully convenient for a great deal of politicians over the last eight years and, quite honestly, the American public was complicit.
During the presidential campaign, there was a lot of talk about Main Street vs. Wall Street and how Wall Street was killing Main Street and that Main Street was taking it on the chin because of Wall Street's greed. Really? Have any of you visited a typical American "Main Street" recently? When was the last time you were able to visit a locally owned hardware store in a small city that also happened to have a Wal Mart? I would say at least ten years.
Main Street has been getting crushed for a good long while partly due to enormous tax incentives and credits that were offered by both federal and local authorities. We permitted this to happen because the prices were incredibly cheap, which in turn permitted us to purchase more cheap plastic crap from China, from whom, by the way, we borrow inordinate amounts of money.
In my view, we sacrificed Main Street years ago. For the right wing to be up in arms about how our new federal budget is killing small businesses is subterfuge. A budget that ends the Bush tax cut for those making over $250,000 in take home profit will affect a tiny portion of small businesses. Previous policies had a much more devastating and long term effect.
The irony? Many of those ubiquitous, ticky tacky box stores are now sitting empty. As the economy takes a nose dive, Americans can no longer afford to purchase even the cheap plastic crap from China. My how the wheel does spin.
So, tell me again why you're so angry over the Economic Stimulus Plan or the Federal Budget?