Congress Falls Short

Reciting a very well-rehearsed acceptance speech under tightly controlled conditions means nothing even amid his grand emotive vision. Aspirational though he was, Biden was strikingly light on specifics. He mentioned nothing about the violence plaguing our cities. A plan of attack to combat lawlessness would have been most helpful and eagerly anticipated by even his most stalwart supporters given his 47-year tenure in politics. It rang hollow and downplayed the rule of law at a time when it is sorely needed. True to their Marxist ideals, the Democrats want chaos, for so unbounded is their hatred of American exceptionalism that they hold the moral stature of criminally depraved people in higher regard than honest hard-working folks. Hence the destruction in the streets of every major metropolitan run by progressive mayors. It has become part of a nefarious campaign as a pretext to promote economic collapse. Biden plans tacitly and sympathetically to overthrow our Republic and replace it with Socialism.

To envision what a Biden administration would look like in the future, first look to the past at a burgeoning homeless encampment within Philadelphia during the past 6 months. There is destitution as these people depend upon the state for subsistence rather than their own talent and initiative. There is also disease as they don’t observe social distancing and practice good hygiene. Amidst all of this is the ghastly accouterment of progressive fiscal policy, the umbral tide of rising crime for which the left is wholly and especially responsible.

Then consider other cities like Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, farther to the east - Minneapolis, Chicago, and New York. Living conditions in these places are no better. Finally, look to history itself at every time and place socialist fiscal policies were tried in places like Soviet Russia and China. Closer to our shores, Cuba, Venezuela, and shortly Canada. These countries share a common history of economic collapse. In spectacular fashion, they have failed.

So has Congress, whose members remain bilaterally detached. Our elected officials abandoned their constituents by leaving on recess during a pandemic without passing any stop-gap interim solutions. Through their intransigence on the national stage, they failed to set the example by helping Americans in want for common necessities and comforts. It needed not to have been so. There are at least some common-sense measures that should have already been enacted a priori.

First, all Congressional leave should have been canceled through year-end.  With so many pressing issues that need to be addressed, delay is most inopportune. The optics are strongly indicative of elitism and detachment. Amidst unprecedented hardship, folks deserve better! It would have been a small matter for Congress to cleanly extend supplemental unemployment benefits through year-end but because of Democrat recalcitrance, it did not.

Secondly, a balanced budget amendment must be enacted. Since people must live within their means, so should government. It also might help to buffer the tumults the markets would endure amidst socialist economic policy in the event of a Biden win. To minimize the potential disruption, priorities must be agreed to by both sides and established. Spending caps must be set and steadfastly adhered to. Most importantly, these caps must be limited by the taxes which the government collects.

Indiscriminate borrowing must end. At least 10% of taxes collected should be invested in a sinking fund to reduce current $26 trillion national debt. Currently, this averages to over $80,000 per capita which is well beyond the means of middle-class Americans even were economy strong and conditions optimal. If left unchecked, interest will accrue without bound which would increase the likelihood of default. In such a case, the economic impact would be indelibly devastating. Widespread inflation and unemployment would be everywhere.

Term limits are arguably the best policy to guard against this eventuality. Mayors are limited to two terms. So are governors and presidents. Members of Congress should enjoy no exemption. Given their performance since the onset of the China virus, they abrogated our trust. They behaved poorly. Both sides must be held to account.

The country is in a bad state. The financial and moral imperatives could not be any clearer. Though Congress may not be acting with a heightened sense of urgency, President Trump has. While leftist mobs continue to imperil the lives of honest hard-working folks by their ravening in major metropolitans with veritable impunity, President Trump has pledged the services of additional federal law enforcement officers throughout. He also promised additional funding for local jurisdictions where the need was particularly urgent. With every overture of Presidential support, the mayors have reflexively refused to press their objectification of defunding police. To even remotely suggest defending the police in a climate such as this is sheer madness.

The mobs have destroyed thousands of small businesses and in process, people who spent many years building them to establish themselves. The economic and moral fabrics of our country have been marred by the left probably beyond redress. Few of the perpetrators have been prosecuted. The left have neither learned nor led.  Such is their heritage. The past is indeed prologue, and I confess myself as disappointed and disillusioned.