Congress’ approval rating hit an all-time low earlier this month.
Just days after members approved a last-minute deal to increase the country’s debt ceiling, 84 percent of Americans said they do not approve of the way members of Congress are handling their jobs, according to a CNN/ORC poll on Aug. 1.
That does not bode well for re-election prospects, but more importantly, it does not bode well for the future of the country.
A default on the nation’s debt was averted at the absolute last minute possible. It also resulted in the downgrade of the country’s credit rating ”“ not only because of the economic uncertainty ”“ but also because policymakers stone-walled on the issue until it seemed a compromise may not be reached in time.
On Aug. 5, Standard & Poors downgraded the United States’ credit rating from AAA to AA+, because they stated, in part, “The downgrade reflects our view that the effectiveness, stability and predictability of American policymaking and political institutions have weakened at a time of ongoing fiscal and economic challenges to a degree more than we envisioned when we assigned a negative outlook to the rating on April 18.”
So thanks to legislators refusing to compromise, the country was downgraded and stocks began to free-fall around the globe. The Federal Reserve came to the rescue by committing to keep interest rates low, and stocks have stabilized, but the feeling in the country is one of concern and uncertainty.
What Congress can do to change these feelings of distress and doubt, would be to come together this fall and create and pass legislation that helps working Americans and puts the unemployed back to work. Legislators can agree that we need jobs, so working on jobs bills and incentives for businesses to create new jobs should be a no-brainer.
Extending payroll tax cuts that benefit employees as well as tax cuts for middle- and low-income citizens would give immediate relief to Americans most in need of it. Consumer confidence is low, and it will only get lower if their paychecks shrink and taxes increase.
The new supercommittee charged with dealing with the nation’s debt and cutting spending have a real opportunity to ensure the nation’s fiscal health in the future ”“ and a lot of the work has been done already.
A similar committee was formed last year, called the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, a bipartisan group created by the president with a mission of reducing the deficit. They issued a report in December that called for cuts to discretionary spending, and reforming the tax code, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid that would have reduced the deficit by $4 trillion over the next 10 years.
Members of the commission recommended eliminating dozens of tax loopholes and expenditures, which amount to $1.1 trillion of spending each year in the tax code as well as lowering taxes for all brackets and broadening the tax base.
The group also laid out plans to increase efficiency and create solvency for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
We hope the new supercommittee will start with this report and work from these ideas that were endorsed by the leaders of that commission, former Republican Senator Alan Simpson of Wyoming and Erskine Bowles, White House chief of staff under President Bill Clinton. But ultimately, members of Congress need to work together and make compromises to reduce the country’s debt while preserving and growing the economy.
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