Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

SUN EDITORIAL:

Debt and political gridlock

Republicans in Congress pursue an agenda that Americans don’t support

Credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s on Monday changed its long-term outlook on the federal government’s debt, moving it from “stable” to “negative” and said it could downgrade its rating of the debt within the next two years. If it does so, it would make it more difficult and costly for the government to borrow money.

S&P’s statement caused considerable consternation in Washington, where the White House and Congress are taking on difficult negotiations over how to best handle the nation’s debt. Rep. Eric Cantor, the No. 2 Republican in the House of Representatives, used the statement to argue for his party’s draconian plans for the budget. The White House dismissed it as political — S&P’s statement comes days after a Senate subcommittee issued a bipartisan report on the nation’s financial crisis that criticized the company.

Put in context, the statement is not a harbinger of impending financial doom — the markets on Wall Street were largely unmoved by it — but it is another sign of the seriousness of the nation’s debt. Whether there is a political motive, the statement rightly notes the difficulty the nation faces in trying to address the debt.

Although not commenting on the viability of the competing budget plans offered by Democratic President Barack Obama and Republican Rep. Paul Ryan, S&P did warn that the political gridlock in Congress could push off any type of plan to deal with the debt until after the 2012 election.

That, sadly, is a possibility given the way Republicans have taken an all-or-nothing approach to the debate. As we have previously noted, the Republicans’ shortsighted agenda is terrible policy. Consider that Ryan’s plan would give lucrative tax breaks for the rich and raise rates on the backs of the poor and the middle class. And people under 55 years old would no longer be guaranteed health insurance under Medicare when they retire.

The Republicans laughably have tried to claim a populist mantle, as if they were speaking for the public because they have the Tea Party’s support. But the Tea Party doesn’t represent Americans’ views, and Republicans are out of touch with America.

For example, a new McClatchy-Marist poll showed that Americans favor raising taxes on wealthier Americans, those making more than $250,000 a year, by a 2-to-1 margin. And that’s not just liberals and independents — 43 percent of Republicans support it also.

When it comes to Medicare and Medicaid, a health insurance program for the poor, people don’t want what Republicans are pushing — 80 percent are opposed to cuts in those programs. A strong majority of conservatives — 68 percent — are opposed as well.

Yet Republicans in Congress have gone to incredible lengths to protect tax cuts for the rich and have advocated cuts to government health insurance programs. They have threatened to derail progress if they don’t get their way, and their obstructionism threatens to set the country back in dealing with the debt.

Reducing the federal debt is, as it should be, a national priority. The country can’t afford any more gridlock, and Americans have clearly said they want progress. Republicans should listen to the people — not the Tea Party.

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