Traveling Ph.D.

I have received my first response to the emails that I send to my Senators and Representative in Congress. Aside from the fact that my Congressman’s staff doesn’t understand they should address me as “Dr.”, not “Ms.”, I offer you the following reasons why I will never vote for this man:

Thank you for contacting me with your thoughts regarding raising the debt ceiling and restoring fiscal responsibility. As your Congressman, it is beneficial for me to hear your thoughts on this important issue.

Without question, Washington, D.C. is spending too much, taxing too much, borrowing too much and is on an unsustainable path towards financial demise. In 2009, when President Obama took office, the national debt stood at $9.8 trillion. Now only 2 years later, it stands at over $14 trillion, with the deficits increasing over $1 trillion per year for the last three fiscal years. Past fiscal policies that failed to restrain spending required 10 increases in the debt ceiling since 2001 and continued borrowing over the past two years led us to surpass the $14.3 trillion borrowing limit.

 Unfortunately, instead of having a sincere conversation about facing our fiscal challenges, President Obama resorted to using scare tactics regarding Social Security, Medicare and military pay to distract Americans from the eminent consequences of continued reckless spending. For this reason, I sent a letter to President Obama asking him to clarify that Social Security, Medicare and military payments will be made in full and on time. To view this letter online, please click here.

Really? A link to another Congressman’s website? {Sigh}

President Obama also reportedly favors raising taxes by more than $1 trillion on Americans at a time when our country faces 9.2% unemployment, with 13.9 million Americans out of work. These proposed tax increases destroy jobs and are in addition to the tax increases already imposed on small businesses as part of the Affordable Care Act.

Can someone please explain to my Congressman that trickle down economics do not work? Seriously, everyone keeps talking about how the truly wealthy are the job generators — so where are the jobs they are supposed to be generating? Not here in Indiana, that’s for darned sure.

While some have claimed that these tax increases will only affect ‘corporate jets’ and people making over $1 million a year, a careful examination of the facts shows this is not sincere. If Congress were to end expedited expensing of corporate jets in the tax code today, the Joint Economic Committee estimates this would only generate $300 million in extra taxes a year, enough to pay for roughly 1 hour of government deficit spending. Such a tax on luxury goods was tried in the early 1990s and resulted in tens of thousands of American jobs lost until it was quickly repealed by Congress. Additionally, in 2008, 0.3% of all tax returns reported an income of $1 million or more and paid $250 billion in taxes. The top 5% of earners paid 60% of federal income tax and the top 25% of earners paid 86% of federal income tax. It is impossible to raise taxes to the amounts necessary to meet the President’s demands without sinking our economy further into a deep recession.

In 2001, Washington spending accounted for 18.2% of every dollar in our economy. This year, Washington is set to spend 24.1% of every dollar in our economy. By the year 2035, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that on our current course, Washington will account for 33.9% of all spending in our economy. While it is easy to blame the tax cuts of the last decade for our debt, the truth is that tax revenue reached record levels and was growing by over 10% per year. Raising taxes to meet the needs of Washington’s out-of-control spending will fail to create jobs and stimulate the economy. It is clear that Washington has a spending problem, not a revenue problem and we must drastically reduce current and future spending.

We are currently involved in two wars. We had to rebuild after 9/11 and again after Katrina. Yet, instead of trying to raise the revenue necessary to pay for these big ticket items, Americans were given tax cuts and told to go spend, spend, spend to bolster the economy. I’m sorry, but something is broken in America.

As for our “spending problem,” I offer you another take — this commentary from David Cay Johnston, a Reuters columnist: ”In January 2008 the Congressional Budget Office estimated that publicly traded debt would total $5.1 trillion in 2018. Its report two years later, in January 2010, put the figure at $13.7 trillion. That $8.6 trillion increase in traded federal debt shows how much the collapse on Wall Street added to our debt as it caused the worst job market since the Great Depression with banks propped up by tax dollars when they should have been allowed to fail, as one would expect of badly run enterprises in a capitalist system.” Quite honestly, this problem was well underway before Obama assumed office. And, it could be considered a one-time blip on the economic radar.

For me to vote to raise the debt ceiling, the Obama administration will have to “cut up the credit cards” and commit to real fiscal restraint that will reduce spending now and provide structural reforms to restrain spending in the future. To do otherwise would only endorse the fiscal irresponsibility of the past, and I am committed to a more efficient and effective government.

Yet, it is responsible to take our country to the brink of default because you are not willing to compromise? I offer you this analysis from Nicholas Kristof: “In other words, Republican zeal to lower debts could result in increased interest expenses and higher debts. Their mania to save taxpayers could cost taxpayers. That suggests not governance so much as fanaticism.” Or what about this lovely little indicator from NPR? Seriously, are you trying to turn our country into Greece?

On July 19, 2011, I voted in favor of H.R. 2560, the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act of 2011, which passed the House by a vote of 234-190. This legislation cuts $111 billion in Fiscal Year 2012, caps our spending levels and ensures automatic spending reductions if the cap is breached, and requires a Balanced Budget Amendment must be passed before the nation’s debt limit is increased. Unfortunately, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) along with every Senate Democrat voted against even considering debate on this important legislation. President Obama and Senate Democrats must start taking the financial problems of this nation seriously.

While I am for the idea of paying for what we spend, proposing a Balanced Budget Amendment is a terribly dangerous idea. The national government needs the ability to be flexible — it needs to be able to respond to disasters, both natural and economic, and it needs to be able to provide for our national defense. If the federal government was required to have a balanced budget, how would it have responded to Katrina? To 9/11? How would the government have paid for our ongoing wars? Would you have balanced the budget on the back of the poorest of the poor by cutting even more funding for education? For environmental protection? Would you have raised the retirement age for Social Security even higher?

Or would you have raised taxes?

It was good to hear from you. Please do not hesitate to contact me any time you have an issue of concern before Congress. Also, feel free to visit my website at bucshon.house.gov and sign up for my e-newsletter to receive updates from Washington. It is an honor to serve you and the people of the 8th District of Indiana.

As Johnson notes: “Many signers of the no-tax-rate-hikes pledge invented by Norquist, the anti-tax crusader who is president of Americans for Tax Reform, seem to have forgotten their greater duty to the U.S. Constitution.” My Congressman is one of them. When the economy comes to a screeching halt and my grandmother, stepmother, and mother-in-law do not receive their Social Security checks, that this guy doesn’t get his paycheck either.

Now, obviously, it is possible that the default might not come on August 2. It is possible that the moderate Republicans might come around and join forces with the Democrats. It’s possible that we might default and nothing really bad will happen. This could be an artificially created crisis. Either way, I am angry about the fact that our elected officials cannot find some way to put aside partisan politics and compromise. As one person tweeted on the #dearcongress tag today: “Americans compromise every day for society to function. Why are you incapable?”

And, every day that Congress spends bickering about the debt ceiling problem — something that has never been a problem before, not even when Reagan raised it 17 times — they are not working on real problems. From NPR: “For some in the current debate, the government’s focus on budget deficits is a start toward a better economy. For others, it’s a distraction from dealing with the real problems of unemployment. If lawmakers aren’t careful, the deficit reduction deal could actually make the jobs picture worse.”

Enough already. Stop pointing fingers. Start finding solutions.