Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Reading the Politics & Other Controversies Forum over the last few months it seems to be 80-90% extremists from one end or the other. I see moderate voices chime in here or there but they seem to be drowned out by the absolutism of the extremes of the left and the right. I am fairly certain there are a lot more moderates that read this Forum than actually post frequently. I’d like to have a thread where moderates can discuss the issues such as what is important to them in the 2020 elections, trends they are noting in their communities, etc. I for one don’t know of any single candidate running for any office - ever - that I have agreed with 100%, which means that voting takes weighing a number of different issues.
For example, one issue that seems to not be addressed in all the many threads I see is the deficit, which is of increasing concern to me. And I think it is the fault of both parties. We have a perfect storm of a tax cut by Trump and the pre-2018 Republican Congress and a current mixed Congress that can’t seem to reign in spending. It seems like the only consideration is political - is an expenditure politically good for my party or not. There seems to be no consideration by either party to balance the budget and have the hard discussions about revenues on one hand and expenditures on the other. We are putting the next generation in debt to serve political agendas. I don’t believe in a balanced budget amendment because I believe we need the flexibility to borrow in times of crisis, but it seems like politicians, on the federal level anyway, are so focused on politics that the fundamentals are being lost.
Any other thoughts from moderates on the deficit or other things that matter but seem to be lost in the wash of hyper-partisan headlines? Or even just a hands up to know you are out there?
The deficit is a tough subject because it is politically impossible to cut the budget and fiscally impossible to tax our way out of it. It is a problem that our political system has no solution for.
The deficit is a tough subject because it is politically impossible to cut the budget and fiscally impossible to tax our way out of it. It is a problem that our political system has no solution for.
True...although the tax cut coupled with the massive 'everyone gets everything' budget will just make it so much worse.
We would need to do across the board cuts, stop giving billions in aid to other countries, clamp down on welfare abuse, increase taxes on all income levels, close certain tax loop holes as a start.
Debt will continue to get slathered on at record levels with the race to ZIRP again. ZIRP and the "Greatest Economy Ever" lol. Makes you laugh. Deficits and the national debt be damned. The American way!
True...although the tax cut coupled with the massive 'everyone gets everything' budget will just make it so much worse.
It's like a guy with a failing liver trying to decide between the 80 proof liquor and the 100 proof liquor. Either choice will make the problem worse, but you'll still wake up in the morning and it probably won't be fatal during this election cycle.
It's like a guy with a failing liver trying to decide between the 80 proof liquor and the 100 proof liquor. Either choice will make the problem worse, but you'll still wake up in the morning and it probably won't be fatal during this election cycle.
You are probably right....sadly. Both parties have more or less agreed to just let the debt continue to grow throught the next election, kicking the can even farther down the road. We need a nip and tuck everywhere. Entitlements could be reformed by considering a graduated system or adding two years before being able to draft full Social Security. I suspect we could also cut the military spending if we really eanted to. As examples. Every company I've worked for has taken time to put a budget together where if you elect to take on additional debt that decisio has to be justified. Government, not so much. Meanwhile the largest sinlge espenditure will soon be debt service.
The deficits will be high until the baby boomer generation starts passing away and their social security and medicare payments disappear. It wasn't a surprise to folks in the 1980's that the largest generation in the history of this nation was eventually going to start collecting old age benefits, and that preparing for it financially would be prudent.
The deficits will be high until the baby boomer generation starts passing away and their social security and medicare payments disappear. It wasn't a surprise to folks in the 1980's that the largest generation in the history of this nation was eventually going to start collecting old age benefits, and that preparing for it financially would be prudent.
We didn't prepare.
No you make a decent point and I certainly agree it's an uncomfortable truth. Both of my parents are in retirement now and while they are a little older than the boomers I can see the impact.
However, I also think that with that backdrop tax cuts in an economy that was already doing well seems to have been short-sighted if we weren't going to also figure out where to make cuts. Assuming thsat the tax cuts would pay for themselves was always a little over-optimistic, to say the least. That has been shown time and time again to be a fallacy.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
