Moderate Republican NY Times columnist David Brooks often speaks for we independents ranging between center-right and center left--which is to say he often speaks to both parties as a political and economic pragmatist. I've long respected him for that. Today, in a short column, he talks straight to us again. He lays the blame for much of our problems where they belong: with those of us who insist on both lower taxes and unrestrained access to government programs regardless of means or need, and at whatever cost to the government. Most of us lack personal discipline and accountability, just as most of our politicians do in representing our views and demands. We are our own worst enemy--and in the end, it is first and foremost our own fault. We get what we demand from those we vote for. And that has resulted in broken and unaccountable government.
After discussing where we are as a government and people in addressing the nation-threatening issues imbedded in the so-called “fiscal cliff” and managing our gaping budget deficit, David Brooks concludes with these observations:
Ultimately, we should blame the American voters. The average Medicare couple pays $109,000 into the program and gets $343,000 in benefits out, according to the Urban Institute. This is $234,000 in free money. Many voters have decided they like spending a lot on themselves and pushing costs onto their children and grandchildren. They have decided they like borrowing up to $1 trillion a year for tax credits, disability payments, defense contracts and the rest. They have found that the original Keynesian rationale for these deficits provides a perfect cover for permanent deficit-living. They have made it clear that they will destroy any politician who tries to stop them from cost-shifting in this way.
Most members of Congress are responding efficiently to the popular will. A large number of reactionary Democrats reject any measure to touch Medicare or other entitlement programs. A large number of impotent Republicans talk about reducing the debt, but are incapable of forging a deal that balances tax increases with spending cuts.
The events of the past few weeks demonstrate that these political pressures overwhelm the few realists looking for a more ambitious bargain. The country either doesn’t know or doesn’t care about the burdens we are placing on our children. No coalition of leaders has successfully confronted the voters, and made them heedful of the ruin they are bringing upon the nation.
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