DETROIT -- OK, the president is down on the ranch in Texas relaxing and it's August, so maybe it's a good time for all of us to take a few steps back and reflect.
Family and friends say I should cool down and not be so ready to attack and rant, and should be a little more forgiving and reach for understanding and forgiveness.
Rightly admonished and filled with the rhapsody of the herb of love, basil, and the joys of midsummer nights, I take heed, and will allow the president some peaceful days. Well, sort of.
The basil in my herb garden is lush and vibrant, and imbues me with mellowness and benevolence. Making pesto is a joy. I dream of things to do with basil. The easiest, and perhaps the best, is a simple salad. Fresh tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese, basil leaves, all drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, a splash of balsamic vinegar, kosher salt and freshly ground pepper -- it's heavenly, and the eye appeal is great, reflecting the colors of the Italian flag.
But while enjoying the delights of summer food, I can't help worrying about a few things. Since the president won't, and he needs to rest and relax, and I've declared a unilateral peace accord, I'll bear the burden for him.
The state of the world certainly is cause for worry, and I must say I told you so about the Saudis. But the season makes me focus more on matters on the homefront.
The need for jobs and health care, civil liberties, the environment, struggling state and local governments -- all these things need our attention. Touching all those issues, though, is the federal deficit -- a big problem and it won't go away.
We certainly don't want this disturbing news to upset the tranquility down on the ranch in Crawford, Texas, but it really does require our national attention and some difficult decisions that most of our political leaders want to avoid.
The economy is showing some encouraging signs. The growth rate is somewhat better than expected and car sales are up, and that sure brings smiles here in Detroit and in many other quarters.
It would be great to get the economy rolling again and see some job creation, instead of the steady declines we've seen for the last three years. If the guy down in Crawford gets some political mileage out of that, fine. I just want to see people finding jobs instead of losing them.
But regardless of the recovery, the federal budget will be a mess for a very long time, and the rate of growth needed to offset the monstrous deficit is unimaginable.
Bush and his minions say the deficit is "manageable" and a growing economy will fill the federal coffers. The problem will simply take care of itself. At best, that claim is totally unsubstantiated. If I were not under the rapturous influence of basil, I'd be calling the claim a flat-out lie.
Paul Krugman does. The Princeton economist and New York Times columnist blows the lid off the Bush administration's "jobs creation" promises based on elitist tax benefits that are looting the treasury and will ultimately threaten Social Security and Medicare for older Americans.
Krugman sees the Bush tax polices as the hungry getting scraps and the gluttons gorging themselves. The Republican National Committee has declared the latest tax cut will help "everyone who pays taxes." Krugman, who doesn't use the diplomatic language of so many pundits, says, "That is simply a lie."
As some people wait for the mail to bring a check from the federal government paid for with borrowed money, 8 million children are denied any tax breaks at all because of a last-minute deal in Congress.
The president says he wants that corrected, but Majority Leader Tom "The Exterminator" DeLay, who really runs the House of Representatives, says no and gets away with it. Krugman reminds us, "In total, 50 million American households -- including a majority of those with members over 65 -- get nothing; another 20 million receive less than $100 each. And a great majority of those left behind do pay taxes."
The tax cuts have brought federal revenue as a share of Gross Domestic Product to its lowest level since 1959. That was an era when Social Security was a minor expense, and Medicare and Medicaid didn't even exist. It may be news down on the ranch, but maintaining those programs at today's tax rates is simply impossible.
California is reeling in debt and it's getting worse. Gov. Gray Davis is facing a recall. OK, Davis is obnoxious and mean-spirited, but his fiscal mismanagement can't hold a candle to what's going on in Washington. Removed from Social Security, the federal government is racking up a deficit equal to one-third its operating income, far worse than California. Try that at home and see what happens.
Professor George Akerlof of the University of California, Berkeley, says the deficit -- a record $455 billion this year -- is not manageable. The president may not be worrying about our children, but Akerlof is. He recently told the German magazine "Der Spiegel," "The government is not really telling the truth to the American people. Past administrations from the time of Alexander Hamilton (the first Treasury Secretary) have on average run responsible budgetary polices. What we have here is a form of looting."
Akerlof's analysis blends in anthropology, sociology and psychology to weigh economic influences. He is an expert on monetary policy and poverty. Akerlof says the Bush administration is ignoring the demands and strains baby boomers will make on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
Starting about seven years from now, when George W. Bush will be spending nearly all his time down on the ranch, the biggest population bubble in history will be looking for the entitlements they were promised.
Akerlof urges, "This is the time we should be saving," but adds, "the administration is giving us red ink as far as the eye can see." Like Paul Krugman, he sees the unprecedented raid on the Treasury as madness with a sinister motive that will leave the nation with a grim choice.
"We can be like a poor country with problems of threatening bankruptcy or we're going to have to cut back seriously on Medicare and Social Security. ... So the money that is going overwhelmingly to the wealthy is going to be paid by cutting services for the elderly," the economist predicts.
Akerlof shares Krugman's refreshing candor and his assessment of the Bush administration is chilling. "I think this is the worst government the U.S. has ever had in more than 200 years of history. It has engaged in extraordinarily irresponsible policies, not only foreign and economic, but also in social and environmental policies."
Akerlof offers a challenge to the American people, noting, "This is not normal government and policy. Now is the time for people to engage in civil disobedience." But, he adds, the protests should not include refusing to pay taxes, since that will make matters even worse.
I share those worries, but I'm going back to my basil harvest to try to calm down. I trust times are peaceful in Texas and the president and his economic advisors are not burdened with Akerlof's concerns.
By the way, in 2001 he won the Nobel Prize in economics.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | August 5 2003 |