Tuesday, December 11, 2012

If Only "Politics" Would Get Out Of The Way

If only “politics” would get out of the way…
There is a great article in “Politico” today that discusses the very real possibility of an economic boom if not for the partisan political gridlock in Washington.
Over the past three months “Politico’ staffers interviewed a host of politicians and corporate CEO’s.  Some of the conversations were off the record.  Many were not.  They found a bi-partisan consensus on numerous issues that if passed into law would cause an economic boom in this country.
Top Democrats, Republicans and CEO’s agree that it all starts with taxes. They agree the best thing for the economy in the long term is to simplify the Tax Code, reduce rates and end loopholes for both individuals and corporations.  Tax reform would raise more money to pay down the debt.
There is also broad consensus that Congress should cut government spending including large cuts from the bloated and outdated defense department budget.
Leaders agree that the eligibility age for Social Security needs to be raised, the growth rate needs to be cut and the cap on income that funds the program needs to go up.  They also concur that Medicare needs to undergo a drastic reformation to avoid becoming insolvent in the next dozen years.
There is bi-partisan agreement that we need to take advantage of the massive oil and natural gas reserves that would bring us energy independence and reshape out views on foreign policy.  And there is broad consensus that we need to make it easier for high-skilled immigrants to stay in this country.
Certainly the devil is in the details.  But achieving consensus on these issues becomes much easier if elected officials place the good of the country ahead of political ideology.
 “America is poised to grow faster if we have good policy” said JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon.  “Businesses have capacity, they have liquidity, and they’re well capitalized.  Housing has turned.  The table is being set pretty well.  If we add good policy to that we can lift off.”
This article confirms our belief that the current fiscal cliff negotiations are nothing more than nibbling around the edges.  If we want to build a growing vibrant economy we need to think bigger.  But we continue to be stymied by political gridlock.  There is a consensus that we can do more.  That we can make the tough decisions that will eventually have to be made if we want to make this country great again.
If only “politics” would get out of the way.
Check out the entire article at www.politico.com.   


   

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