Editorial

Editorial

Democrats and Obama alike belive that the only way to fix the budget deficit would be to increase taxes on the wealthy while also taxing large corporations a larger amount. This topic is discussed in a Los Angeles Times Article titled, "Two sides still far apart in budget proposals" which was written by Lisa Mascaro and Michael A. Memoli.


Compromise Will Set You Free


Whether you believe it or not, America's budget deficit is as much a reality as the phone bill you will have to pay at the end of the month. It’s a lingering issue that must be dealt with promptly and with compromise from both political parties. However, this will be very difficult to accomplish when both sides have very different views and plans.

 
On one side of the spectrum, you have the Republican Party who believes that the only way to the fix the budget would be to tax every American equally while also cutting back on Medicare. While this plan may restore balance to the budget, it will do so by making the poor even poorer. As Obama states in the Los Angeles times article, Balance will be achieved “on the backs of the poor, the elderly, students who need student loans and families that have disabled kids”. When you think about it, the Republican’s plan to fix the deficit is easily compared to a high school lunch break situation that many have unfortunately been witness too. What is being referred to is the bullying of someone who is much weaker, in status or wealth, for their lunch money in order to buy themselves food. Essentially, this is what the Republican party aims to do when they propose taxing the wealthy as much as the poor. Choosing to fix our deficit by squeezing the little bit of income some Americans have been faced with is something that cannot be allowed

 
 Democrats on the other hand have a more rational approach believing that higher taxes for those who can afford it, such as the wealthy and large corporations, is the best way to go. Although we would like to believe this plan is flawless, it is not so perfect. The Los Angeles article stated later on that, “Democrats, meanwhile, sitting down to lunch with the president, offered a counterproposal that would raise nearly $2 trillion toward deficit reduction, with equal parts coming from taxes and spending cuts. But their plan does not balance the budget for the foreseeable future”. Thus, this plan would only be a temporary solution to the budget problem and would not completely eliminate the problem..


Therefore, Obama has taken the time to talk to Republicans and Democrats in order to come to a more ethical oriented conclusion. The Los Angeles Times article also mentions that, "Obama hopes to set the stage for a broader deal by improving his often-rocky relations with Congress, one visit at a time. The president has scheduled three more visits on Capitol Hill this week, meeting Wednesday with House Republicans and Thursday with Senate Republicans and House Democrats". It is evident that an effort is being made to combat this situation and hopefully they can build off the democratic proposition with compromise that will leave the Republicans satisfied.

Mascaro, Lisa Memoli, A. Michael. “Two sides still far apart in budget proposals”. 12 March 2013. LAtimes. 13 March 2013 http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-budget-20130313,0,7468860.story