Compromise and Democracy

While I am enormously pleased that the majority of American voters (that is to say, those who actually voted) decided to re-elect President Obama, there is no doubt in my mind that the country still faces a terrible situation. In fact, the country remains split down the very middle in a 50/50 division of beliefs concerning just about everything --- how to handle finances, when life begins, who should marry, what to do in the world that surrounds us, and even who should vote. We cannot afford to remain so desperately divided. Democracy requires the ability to compromise; democratic people must be able to understand each other's needs and respond to them.

Right now, for example, we are facing the "fiscal cliff" over which the country cannot afford to fall. Yet, two days after the election the Republican leadership was once again announcing their refusal to compromise on fundamental economic issues. If the parties cannot begin to work together and discover or create common ground, we will move ahead only by being presented with one deep crisis after another. There is only a month and a half left to us to avoid this particular disaster!

The National Debt is one of the big sore points between parties; and one of the great myths of this controversy is that we have sold our country to the Chinese. Yet 68.1% of the National Debt is owed to Americans as opposed to 9.5% owed to the Chinese. The Chinese, indeed, hold only 31% of the total debt owed to foreign nations. Actual graphs of National Debt clearly demonstrate that Republicans have been the villains when it comes to adding to debt; Reagan, Bush I, and Bush II all increased the debt by large amounts, while Clinton actually reduced it. Unfortunately, Obama inherited the huge debt accumulated by Bush II and has been crippled by the interest owed and the Republican's refusal to raise revenue. 

The Republican answer to dealing with debt is to reduce spending and they accuse Obama of being the biggest spender ever. Unfortunately, that is simply a lie (which, more unfortunately, they seem to believe anyway); annual budget facts demonstrate that Federal spending by the Obama Administration has been the lowest since Eisenhower. The issue behind all of this is really the Republicans' desire to cut spending on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid --- a long term desire on their part, no matter what the fiscal or electoral realities are. Another linchpin in their plan is reducing Federal government to impotence so that government regulations cannot be enforced. 

The question for Democrats is whether compromise with this kind of agenda is possible. I have to confess that it's very difficult to see.