Washington has a chicken and egg problem. Much like housing and employment, you can’t fix one problem without fixing the other. However, just like this recession, we’ve failed to solve either problem and so we at least feel like we’ve accomplished nothing. Between housing and unemployment I don’t know which will get solved first. But we need it. So what’s the problem in Washington?
Congress of course. Let me introduce you to the chicken:
We are in dire need of what I would simply call fiscal reform. The federal government needs more revenue yesterday, and they need spending cuts 8 years ago. But when I say spending cuts I don’t mean across the board cuts. What we need is smart spending. We need government to stop thinking in terms of “spending to meet the budget” (i.e. the exaggerated $16 muffin) and start thinking in terms of “how can I do the right thing for the country and come in under budget?” But the conversation in Washington is never about smart spending. It’s about straight up cuts operating under the assumption our fat government is too stupid to spend smartly.
On the revenue side we need to raise taxes. Older cuts should expire and we should start with a national sales tax of 1%. We should be eliminating a lot of deductions too because each and every one of them was designed to benefit some group of the population. Wipe them out and start over again. It won’t be that simple because of the other problem: the egg…
Congress is a big stinky rotten egg. Even though Congress has pretended to represent our interests, they only have one: reelection. This isn’t a party problem, it’s just a problem. No one in Congress stands to benefit by making compromises. Most everyone in Congress is so old they don’t even care about the long term impacts of not fixing our fiscal problem. They only have an incentive to do just enough to get their name on a high school and get reelected until they’re bored with Washington*.
The fix can come in one of two ways. The most obvious are term limits. 2-3 terms for the House and 1 for the Senate. And as long as people just vote on party lines we can probably eliminate half of both chambers too. With term limits we’re much more likely to elect people who want to make a difference and know they only have a short time to do it. They’ll still serve long enough to have great careers elsewhere but the career politician should have died with the housing market. The second fix could come with campaign reform. It pains me to suggest it, but we could go to a centrally funded platform, or limit the amount of money that can be raised. With less donors to answer to Congress can actually represent the population. That’s the most crucial point, I don’t feel Congress represents the population anymore. They represent those that can afford to donate.
So which comes first, the chicken or the egg? I’m not sure but somethings got to be done.
Photo: The Wanderer’s Eye
*By the way, it’s a crock of $#!+ that people can fight to get elected and still quit whenever they want. If the military can’t quit after they start, neither should any elected official.
 By The Weakonomist |
The Weakonomist is the founder of Weakonomics. Clicking the picture of the puppy will tell you more about him. If you like what you're reading consider subscribing to the blog, following him on Twitter, and checking out the related posts below. Please consider a donation if you really enjoy Weakonomics. Also keep in mind that nothing I say can be construed as financial advice. |
