Saying "no" to Republicans over the debt limit is not enough. The shutdown caused suffering and even death for Americans. In exchange for all this misery we deserve to see a complete change in policy. The Republican policies of cutting government spending without regard to the consequences have utterly failed. Democrats need to completely repudiate that policy.
That means the Republicans need to give up something important in order to get agreement to bring the government back online. They need to admit cutting has reached an end and we need to increase revenues going forward.
To do that I'm demanding Democratic members of Congress and you go back to the original Democratic budget numbers. Senate Democrats need to withdraw the offer to use the Republican numbers as the basis for negotiation with the House. They need to insist that no budget will pass the Senate or be signed by you unless the total is at least that high.
This should be the cost to the Republicans for shutting down the government.
As for the debt limit, Democrats need to demand an end to a separate vote over the debt limit. Any bill that prescribes spending automatically implies the Executive will do what's necessary to implement the law. A separate vote for borrowing is redundant. The authority to borrow is implicit in the original spending autorization. It is demanded by law and does not need a separate vote. And, therefore, you should ignore the debt limit if it's reached because you have all the legal authority you need to continue to borrow.
What I want to see out of your negotiations over the debt limit is an elimination of that vote. Then, I want to see a budget negotiation that starts with the original funding levels from before the sequester as the baseline from which all further spending agreements start. And finally, I want to see a return to setting spending by the normal authorization process, where each program is evaluated and the spending levels are set based on what is appropriate for that program. If agreement on a program cannot be reached by the end of the fiscal year, by law, its funding should continue at the current appropriation level, adjusted for inflation, for the next fiscal year. Following that, tax levels should be based on spending levels to balance the budget.
The military budget is greater than our defense needs by about $350 billion a year. If they want to cut there, that's okay, because that's appropriate. But if they want to cut SNAP when it will literally cause people to starve, that's not appropriate.
If you're going to cut spending then that implies you've solved a problem. Did the Republicans solve the problem of poor people starving before they voted to cut SNAP? No. I'd like to see a reduction in government as a result of the government solving problems. For example, if you raise the minimum wage, then fewer people will qualify for SNAP. That's how you get people off that program. You get them off the program by solving the problem. This is why ideas like chained CPI fail. They don't solve the problem. Chained CPI: fail. Privatization: fail. TANF: fail. Get the pattern?
This is how people would run a sensible government. Democrats need to stand for something. What's the plan? What is it Democrats are trying to accomplish in the next year? All I've seen from you and our members of Congress is a reaction to Republican demands. Where are your demands from them? What are you fighting for on behalf of the American people?
I will not be satisfied until and unless Democrats deliver. For years, the Democratic leadership has been completely inadequate in fighting with the Republicans. It's time you go on the offensive. Let me give you a few clues:
- Your job is to defend citizens from powers (be they foreign governments or our own corporations) that want to take away our liberty.
- Your job is to increase freedom and democracy.
- Your job is to run the economy responsibly.
Go out and do that. Make the Republicans react to your initiatives. Run the country for the benefit of the people.
I don't like to have to yell at you, but You're going the wrong way! Help me out here!
One of your many constituents,
Liberal Thinking