What's really broken?

Pat Bagley. Salt Lake Tribune.

You might notice that the GOP's fuel truck says "Tax Cuts for

the Rich and Wars." Zakaria implies that tax cuts to the rich

aren't the only problem. Middle class tax cuts and programs

will also need to be cut for the US to balance the budget-

but what political partisan is going to admit that?

Lately, I've been hearing a lot on American news outlets about Washington being 'broken.' Even in Europe, there are headlines like "What's Gone Wrong in Washington" in The Economist. On CNN I saw Senator Bayh talk about how the political culture has changed so that good people who are caught in a dysfunctional system. This past Sunday I listened to what Fareed Zakaria had to say on the subject (I know- I've mentioned Zakaria more than a couple times on this blog, but I really do like his show). Here's an excerpt:

"Everyone agrees Washington is a mess. In a poll released last week, two thirds of Americans were angry at the way Washington works. And there is plenty of blame to go around: Washington is blamed for partisanship, dysfunction, paralysis, problems that are never honestly addressed; we kick the can down the road; et cetera; et cetera. You’ve heard it all before. But in one sense Washington is delivering to the American people exactly what they seem to want. In poll after poll we find that the public is genuinely opposed to any new taxes, but we also discover that the public will immediately punish anyone who proposes spending cuts in any middle-class program, which are the ones where the money is in the federal budget. Now, there is only one way to square this circle short of magic, and that is to borrow money. And that is what we have done now for decades at the local, state, and federal level. At the root of this problem, writes Jacob Weisberg the editor of Slate Magazine, is our national ambivalence towards government. We dislike government in the abstract, but we love it in the particular. Strong majorities don’t want any more stimulus spending, but 80% of the public wants unemployment benefits extended and more money put into roads and bridges. Another term for that, as Weisberg notes, is stimulus spending. The lesson of the polls in recent elections is that politicians will succeed if they pander to this public schizophrenia. So the next time you accuse Washington of being irresponsible, save some of that blame for yourself and your friends."

To see the actual video, click here.

Later in the show, Zakaria interviewed James Baker, a Republican and former White House Chief of Staff under Reagan and Bush 41, Secretary of the Treasury under Reagan, and Secretary of State under Bush 41. Baker also ran a couple presidential campaigns. He said there was no way the federal government can balance the budget with only spending cuts or only tax increases. We have to do both.