You really can't view any media source in America today without hearing or seeing something related to the looming debt crisis. Politicians seem miles apart from coming to any type of solution and the days are slipping away as we near the August 2nd deadline. The most unfortunate part of this whole situation is that I believe both sides of the debate have legitimate arguments, yet they refuse to even consider points from the opposing side.
Conservatives believe that spending is out of control and that cuts must be made to make any real difference. On this point I would have to agree. I use the National Debt Clock website (http://www.usdebtclock.org/) for various lessons in my classes. When I first began using it in 2008, our debt was somewhere in the 7-8 trillion dollar range. Today, that figure has almost doubled. Clearly something is out of control. I know that there aren't any easy cuts to make since entitlements make up a huge majority of our national spending. Further, of the things that can be cut educational spending is one of them and that would not serve me well as a teacher. It very well could mean that I would be out of a job.
On the other side, Liberals want to increase taxes on the very wealthy. I understand that these are the people who drive industry and create jobs for people like me. However, even if we were to increase taxes on this group none of them would be going without basic necessities. If you take $100,000 from a billionaire, they will still be able to buy groceries. If you take $10,000 from a family with a $40,000 income, they may not. Many people argue that this may discourage innovation and expansion because businesses know that they will just have to pay more in taxes if they continue to grow. While this is true, they will still end up making more money by expanding than if they stay the same. I choose to coach and serve on committees throughout the school year, which does cause me to pay more in taxes. Still, I do end up with a net gain.
In the end, I really don't know what the correct solution to this problem is. I really don't believe in redistribution of wealth and I think that if you work hard and earn a large salary, you deserve it. However, would a flat tax rate for all income levels really be redistribution of wealth? I would love to hear your responses.
This post was written based on the following feed:
Americans View Debt Deadlock With Worry and Scorn
By: Andrew Stern
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/27/us-usa-debt-opinions-idUSTRE76Q4IW20110727?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtopNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Top+News%29
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