Statesmanship Required Now!

Because Congress makes the laws and controls the money, inevitably our aspirations have to meet reality there. Yet critical times arrive that call for statesmanship, which normally is in short supply in both Houses. Clearly, this is one of he most critical times in our country's history, in fact in human history. All the private citizen can do is convey his support for the leaders in Congress who are statesmen enough to cut through the usual money-game and incumbency anxieties to pass the laws the people deserve: the best health care plan on earth for 100% of Americans, thus saving the economy from rising inflation; a truly effective energy law that will free the nation from oil and coal dependency, free us from dependence on foreign petrostates, reduce global warming, and create jobs in whole new industries; a law that places rigorous limits on emissions of greenhouse gases in time to save the environment, the climate, and the coastlines; a law that floodlights a stern regulatory system that will deal harshly with violators of strict financial regulations; a law that enables students to go as far through the education system as their abilities can take them, without exploitation by lenders; laws that provide prompt, topnotch services of every needed category to returning veterans; immigration laws that are fair to immigrants, to Americans, and to illegal immigrants already resident who desire to apply for citizenship, but with strict enforcement and penalty provisions; a law that rewards American employers who employ American workers, for example with tax breaks. Congressmen raise a great hue and cry over the cost such legislation will impose, but this is always dependent on whose ox is gored. The truth is that this nation has an annual GDP of $14 trillion dollars. The truth is that for a fraction of the cost of the defense budget we could probably pay for the whole healthcare plan for one year, and still find it possible to pay for everything else. Weapons are cash cows in the United States. Do they really have to cost as much as they do? Just as with the health care industry, the weapons industry could use a true cost analysis. The savings would not surprise many of us. The main point is: If we need it, pass it, and stop emasculating every attempt to get decent laws passed. Honest debate is fine, but the Beltway Game is fraught with special interests' influence. We are deep in an emergency right now. Let's pass what we really need.

Views expressed on this page are those of the authors and not necessarily those of Campaign for America's Future or Institute for America's Future