At James Breckinridge Middle School in Roanoke on Saturday,
Democratic candidate Andy Schmookler and Republican incumbent Bob Goodlatte
debated to win the votes of Virginia’s 6th district constituency.[1]
Goodlatte has been in office for nearly 20 years. His message during the debate was, not surprisingly, government has grown too large. “Government now is running trillion dollar deficits for each of the last four years and our national debt is $16 trillion,” Goodlatte informed the audience.
Goodlatte also noted that the U.S. has had only 5 balanced
budgets in the last 50 years. What Goodlatte failed to mention is that four of
these balanced budgets fell under a Democratic Party president, Bill Clinton![2]
In response, Schmookler reminded Goodlatte of his own
legislative history. Schmookler commented, “The time to be worrying about the
deficit was when Mr. Goodlatte was voting for Bush’s budget during good
economic times and doubled the national debt.”[3]
Schmookler went on to conclude that trimming government
spending now isn’t the right move for America and that Republican Party cuts
have led to massive job losses.
Indeed, the Republican Party goal of a constantly balanced
budget is little more than a justification to cut social programs for the
middle and working classes of America and, ultimately, to throw scores of
middle and working class Americans out of a job.
There was once a time, not too long ago, when America’s
elites were willing to shoulder a relatively large portion of the costs
associated with our social safety net. Infused by the “you’re on your own”
ideology of conservative and libertarian groups, America’s elites no longer wish
to share in the same fortunes as their fellow countrymen and women.
America’s elites have lost sight of the fact that we’re all
in this ship together, for better or for worse. You cannot have wealth in an
ocean of poverty nor will there be stability in a society mired by gross
inequalities.
A balanced budget sounds great in theory, but at what costs
and to whom? If America’s middle and working classes must be further
devastating to create a balanced budget, the costs clearly outweigh the
benefits.
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