It's no secret that spending cuts are all the rage in Washington. Politicians all over the political spectrum are filling the air with lofty rhetoric about the need for the federal government to shrink the national debt. Unfortunately, this deficit frenzy has overlooked one crucial piece of information — millions of Americans have no jobs.
On this matter, the American people are overwhelmingly clear: they want Congress to focus on job creation. Poll after poll illustrates this fact. In a CBS/New York Times poll conducted last month, 43 percent of respondents identified job creation as the most important thing for Congress to focus on. Only 14 percent cited the federal budget deficit. A CBS poll conducted this month saw 48 percent of those surveyed pointing to the economy and jobs as the most important problem facing the nation — seven percent put their weight behind the national debt.
In the weeks before the midterm elections, Republican candidates reflected this consensus in their emphasis on job creation. Now that they're in power, however, their focus has shifted considerably. Both Republicans and Democrats are both enthusiastically shirking the specter of joblessness to focus on cutting spending.
Their focus has shifted so much that some are losing sight of what they originally claimed to advocate. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, recently made his priorities clear. According to Talking Points Memo, Boehner said, “If some of those [federal government] jobs are lost so be it. We're broke.” Well, so much for job creation.
Another disturbing aspect of these recent budget proposals lies in how much they disproportionately harm the poor. One startling example of this can be found in a $2.5 billion cut to the “government’s energy assistance fund for poor people,” according to the National Journal. Somehow the idea of cutting funding for poor people's heating sounds rather callous.
Especially when you take into account the tax “compromise” reached last fall, which, according to CNN, will add $893 billion to the deficit, over $400 billion of which came from the extension of the Bush tax cuts. Where were all the deficit hawks then?
While people love to berate the poor, these are many of the people that create the demand that spurs job creation. Cutting programs that assist them seems like nothing more than an egregious shot in the foot at best, and counterproductive at worst.
Want to get serious about fixing the deficit? Look at the military. Even aside from the necessary step of withdrawing forces from Iraq and Afghanistan, there is plenty of excessive spending to be found in the Pentagon. Eliminating the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy would also be a nice touch.
While creating a balanced budget is certainly something that should be aimed for, it should not come at the expense of the poor. Make no mistake, Congress needs to focus on jobs and the economy, and the best way to facilitate that is to stimulate demand. Any efforts to shrink the deficit must not come at the lower class' expense — that is, if we want a strong recovery anytime soon.
Contact Tanner at tjgreene@asu.edu
