Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., claims that the Republicans’ opposition to tax increases and any increase in the national debt ceiling is a sign that they really want to throw Granny and the military over the cliff. The GOP, he said, “would rather stop paying our men and women fighting overseas, force deep cuts to Social Security and Medicare … than tell big oil companies and corporate jet owners to pay their fair share.” This is known as the Washington Monument Strategy, and professional politicians resort to it whenever their spending addiction is seriously threatened. Here’s how the WMS works: When revenue is short, the politicians threaten to shut down the most vital public services first. Locally, it’s the police and firemen, while in Washington, it’s Social Security checks and military pay. That’s how the politicians insure that a maximum number of people feel the pain and will cave in to demands for tax increases instead of spending cuts. Schumer, President Obama and other Democratic leaders have adopted this strategy in hopes of making political gains, but their arguments are full of false premises. If the debt ceiling is not raised soon and taxes are not increased, then spending cuts will be unavoidable. But the Government Accountability Office has made clear that Obama’s treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, would be responsible for deciding which of the government’s obligations be paid first. And Washington will still be receiving trillions of dollars in taxes paid. So if Social Security checks aren’t issued or soldiers don’t get paid on time, it will be because Obama’s treasury secretary decided to do it that way.
Obama unwittingly revealed Wednesday how out of touch he is with daily lives of most Americans. He mentioned the strategy some Republicans have backed of not raising the debt limit and then avoiding default by paying debt service first. “This is the equivalent of me saying ‘I will choose to pay my mortgage, but I’m not going to pay my car note,’ ” the president said. Obama seems unaware that this is precisely what millions of American families must do when they get in a financial bind. They pay their mortgage first, even if it means waiting to pay for things like cable TV, eating out, air conditioning, cleaning service, cell phone service, and yes, sometimes even car payments. Obama and first lady Michelle Obama made a lot of money before entering the White House, so perhaps he never personally experienced the difficulties of having to cut the family budget.
Democrats and Republicans alike in Congress should also take note of Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson’s threat yesterday to bring all Senate proceedings to a halt, as Senate rules allow any individual senator to do, by objecting to everything until the Democratic Senate majority produces a budget — something no Senate lawmaker has done now in more than two years. No family or household can manage its finances without a budget, so why do congressional Democrats think they can run the country without one?
