We can contact the
White House, and also
Congressman Ryan--who, since he put forth his budget plan for the entire country, should hear from the entire country and not just his constituents.
UPDATE: Debt Ceiling bill passes House :( :( :(
What idiocy is going on.
One problem that seems to be affecting those representing us in Washington is confusion about the National Debt, the Deficit which contributes to it--
and, the Debt Ceiling. They do sound a bit the same. Such as Car and Car Seat. But would you try to drive a car seat down the freeway?
So you don't hold up raising the Debt Ceiling while you work on the National Debt/Deficit. They are not the same. They are not the same. Let Washington know. They need a clue.
Many people wish to make cuts in national government spending, which would reduce the Deficit which contributes to the National Debt. There should be DEBATE about which cuts to make, as well as when to make them.
Why? Because the public, we the people, haven't had much time to have the options explained to us, how the cut proposals would really affect us and the people we know, and how to then give our representatives OUR opinion.
In addition, WHEN to make the cuts is an economic issue. Cuts result in lost jobs. We are unfortunately in a period of high unemployment. Lost jobs mean those who lost their jobs have less money to spend. So they don't spend at all of the businesses which they did. before, right? The businesses have less income, and lay off people. This results in more and more unemployment.
Unemployment also means the government receives less tax revenues. So they make more cuts...it is a spiral. Circling the drain.
Cuts are thus dangerous in periods of high unemployment and a fragile economy. The time to make large cuts is when the economy is strong. It's not strong now.
There is no reason to address the National Debt and the Deficit at this exact moment. There is time which should have been given to you and me to become informed and to then let the representatives , who do work for US, know what we want! We should always be consulted!
Raising the DEBT CEILING, on the other hand, which expires tomorrow, would allow our nation to pay our current bills. Whether you pay your bills with cash, check or credit card, you must pay them on time. What if you don't pay them on time because you have decided to review your budget first and make personal changes in your spending and revenue? Wouldn't you sound like an idiot?
Do you tell your plumber to wait until you feel like paying your bill? What about your credit card payments? What happens to your reputation for paying your bills if you do this? What happens to your credit rating? Then what happens to your interest rates?
If our country loses our reputation for paying our current bills, other countries will lose confidence in us and this will cause us economic harm. If we do not pay what we owe on credit, our credit rating could be downgraded and our interest rates could increase.
Ironically this would make it HARDER to pay off our debts and reduce the Deficit and the National Debt. Harder, Washington. Listen and learn.
But: we can't (or should not have raised) raise the Debt Ceiling by forcing a bad deal through Congress which would make things worse, such as unemployment. We have more than enough unemployment.
So we must tell them we oppose or opposed a rushed, bad deal for the National Debt and Budget Deficit, and tell them to always give us time to respond to important proposals. But raising the Debt Ceiling should have been done a lot earlier so we could pay our bills and keep a good reputation! Sheesh, how hard is that? Why don't they get it?
Those who read this are not likely to have had a chance to register YOUR opinion, based on receiving information like what is written above, about any deal in the making.
Clearly this is not a good time for large cuts. Who wants more unemployment?
Also, the cut proposals seem mainly focused on discretionary social spending. This is more harmful to the economy than increasing revenues from billionaires and many profitable corporations (who now pay little or no taxes) would be. Hopefully I can write more on this later. We are being ripped off. In the meantime we don't need to harm our economy any more. Obvious.
We have to let our representatives know NOW that we oppose (d) any bad deal which is in the making or which has been made.
Call your own representative at the capital switchboard and tell him or her the same thing: (202) 224-3121.
You can tell them:
1) You should always stand up for THE PEOPLE, who have already sacrificed their jobs, homes, healthcare, and economic security. And by the way, cuts which only affect US, THE PEOPLE, are more harmful to the economy than if the superrich and the corporations who are practically drowning in profits--pay their fair share!!!
2) THIS IS A BAD TIME TO MAKE LARGE CUTS, INCREASE UNEMPLOYMENT, AND TO CONTRACT THE ALREADY FRAGILE ECONOMY.
AND YOU MUST SAY: I WANT (or wanted) YOU TO VOTE "NO DEAL" AND PASS A *CLEAN* DEBT CEILING BILL!
None of this is not as hard as it looks and takes extremely little time! Please do this! Our country needs you!
We DESERVE to be heard. We want the economy to improve and we don't want anything more to stand in the way of a recovery. Anyone who thinks we are in a wonderful recovery, based on things like the DOW, is out of touch with most of us--aren't they? Are you doing well in this Great Recession/Depression?
If not, speak up to your employees in Congress.
And please pass on this post.
Note: proofreading welcome.
