Each Day, It's Only Getting Worse!

There is a limit on how long solutions can be avoided. Beyond that point, there are no preventive solutions possible, both Mr. Erskine and Simpson agreed. That point arrives when public debt equals or exceeds 90% of GDP. They report our current ratio is 63% and climbing faster with each passing year. After 90%, Alan Simpson said, some very nasty things begin to occur.

The Pig Is Dead, said Alan Simpson, former Senator from Wyoming, referring to the long standing tradition of bringing home the bacon by Congressional representatives, and the fact that this practice is no longer possible without destroying the nation's economy upon which the States and districts depend. Simpson cited the number of resignations in Congress by appropriators who are now aware that there is no more money for budgeting pork projects for their home districts, which, eliminates much of their incumbent advantage in coming elections.

Erskine Bowles, formerly President Bill Clinton's Deputy Chief of Staff, reported that Medicare/Medicaid must be restructured to provide recipients with "Chevrolet's" instead of "Cadillacs". As controversial as that notion is, he said, failure to reform leaves no future for our economy. Mr. Simpson reported that Social Security will witness an overnight 20% cut in benefits around 2030 if the growth of benefits are not altered or premiums raised.

Politics is what stands in the way of America rescuing her future, Alan Simpson implied, citing 7 fellow Republicans, co-sponsors of a bill to establish a Congressional commission on fiscal responsibility and debt measures, who voted against their own bill because, Simpson said: "they wanted to stick it to the President." This failed legislative bill defeated in February by numbers of Democrats and Republicans resulted in Pres. Obama establishing the current bi-partisan Commission outside the auspices of the U.S. Congress.

Republican Sens. Sam Brownback (Kan.), Mike Crapo (Idaho), John Ensign (Nev.), Kay Bailey Hutchison (Texas), James Inhofe (Okla.) and John McCain (Ariz.) all voted against the bill, despite being co-sponsors. A seventh GOP senator, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, had co-sponsored the bill and planned to support it but was forced to miss the vote for family reasons.

The 23 Democrats who opposed the Congressional commission included Daniel Akaka (Hawaii), Max Baucus (Mont.), Sherrod Brown (Ohio), Roland Burris (Ill.), Robert Byrd (W.Va.), Maria Cantwell (Wash.), Ben Cardin (Md.), Bob Casey Jr (Pa.), Chris Dodd (Conn.), Tom Harkin (Iowa), Daniel Inouye (Hawaii), Paul Kirk (Mass.), Frank Lautenberg (N.J.), Jeff Merkley (Ore.), Barbara Mikulski (Md.), Patty Murray (Wash.), Jack Reed (R.I.), Jay Rockefeller (W.Va.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Arlen Specter (Pa.), Debbie Stabenow (Mich.) , Tom Udall (N.M.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.).

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) wasn't a co-sponsor but was a one-time supporter of the idea who changed his mind. On CNN's "State of the Union" following the vote in February, he said he did so because the commission wasn't focused enough on reducing spending. Rather odd since the Commission had not even been formed to formulate solutions, yet.

This Executive Commission on which Mr. Bowles and Simpson sit, does not have the clout to pass legislation that a Congressional debt and deficits resolution commission might have had.

Gov. Gregoire (D) of Washington, asked of Simpson and Bowles, what can the National Governor's Association do to help them succeed since the fate of the States rests upon the fate of the nation. Alan Simpson responded, while his Committee can establish the facts and even produce legislative language for a solution, his committee has neither the staff nor budget to rally public support for remedial action. The Governor's he said, have the resources and loud speaker to take this message to the people, presumably to unite the people in demand that their representatives put the politics aside in order to save this nation's future for generations to come.

The overall message Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles had for the National Governor's Association, as I heard them, was simple. Every day we fail to install solutions, the situation only becomes more dire, difficult, and costly to address. There is a day, in the not so distant future, when public debt equals 90% of our Gross Domestic Product, when solutions will no longer be possible, and the unforgivably horrible consequences of a failed economy will have to be lived through by several generations, or more, of American families.

Reader's can view this closing session of the NGA on C-Span's web site.

By David R. Remer
Published: July 11, 2010 8:20 AM
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