With the wiggling lid bursting with steam bubbles from under its grasp, the pot boils over onto the gas powered stove. No, this isn’t your typical overdone pasta; it’s the U.S. debt-ceiling crisis.
While most of us have been living our lives ”“ going to school, raising families, working hard ”“ politicians in the hallowed halls of Washington have gone unchecked and unchallenged for far too long. At every election we entrust the majority has chosen the right man or woman for the tough task of representing the masses, but now we learn that they have all let us down.
Not to sound too cynical, but this is no longer about party bashing or scoring political points. The future of this country stands upon the brink of fiscal dissolution unless our so-called political leaders take drastic measures. Even an emergency compromise to raise the debt ceiling will not be enough to undo the damage that has resulted from years of racking up our national credit card.
The nation now has a deficit of more than $14.3 trillion. Imagine getting to spend that at the Mall of America. The sad reality is the fault doesn’t rest with our representatives and senators alone; it is actually the person we see in the mirror every day.
We, the American people, generally think it is our inherit freedom to be able to live beyond our means. That new plasma-screen TV or the newest must-have cell phone might be too costly on the surface until we remember we have that shiny piece of plastic in our wallets and purses. A simple yet steady swipe of the card makes our widest materialistic fantasies come to fruition. It seems as though short-term pleasures for long-term consequences is a reoccurring pattern in our society.
Yet there is a double standard between the acceptability of that practice on main street, but not past the steps of the capitol building. Accountability of reigning in congressional spending is vital, don’t get me wrong, but accountability of the general public to set the fiscally responsible example for its representative body is of equal importance. Pay as you go may be a phrase of the past, but in order to begin the long haul out of the red, the goal post must be set.
The passing of the buck must stop now. Don’t you think it’s time we stop dining and dashing foreign countries’ fiscal notes at the expense of our children, grandchildren, and beyond, to pay the bills we choose to ignore? Rethink, reform and renew need to be the foundation for domestic policy over the next few years no matter which party is in power. The conversations by talking heads on TV and around the dinner table should be less about who is poised to benefit most from this crisis and instead be centered on developing potential solutions.
As taxpayers, voters, and most importantly, citizens, we must have an all-in-this-together mentality. Whether the plan debated in Congress incorporates spending cuts to programs you and I may deem essential or tax increases to the wealthiest Americans or a combination of the like, we must start making the tough choices in doing what is right over what is easy. This will undoubtedly be a tough road ahead and as the deadline of Aug. 2 looms ever closer, we will be holding our breath for the political courage we all so desperately need.
— Justin Chenette of Saco is a TV host of “Youth in Politics” on WPME Sundays at 7 a.m. and WPXT at 8:30 a.m. He is a former member of the Maine State Board of Education and is currently attending Lyndon State College, studying broadcast news. Find him on Twitter @justinchenette, Facebook or at www.justinchenette.com.
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