Placing blame still unproductive

Happy Thanksgiving from Congress to you. Even the so-called supercommittee couldn’t reach agreement. Apparently our representatives are so terrified of not being re-elected they cannot do what is good for all of us. Inflexible ideological positions of their constituencies are crippling any chance of reaching workable solutions. One thing is for sure, it isn’t going to get any better. It’s like delaying dental work until you can’t stand the pain.

Some letters to the editor reflect this “my way or the highway” thinking. Blame the other guy or political party for the problem. Nobody will or should be completely happy with the solutions, and the longer it takes the less we’re going to like it. We can end up like Greece or Italy or we can make the unhappy choices of both cutting the spending and raising taxes.

I also believe that we need to do whatever it takes to create jobs, including raising taxes, at least temporarily. Why, for instance, can’t we repair the interstate highways and bridges that we know need fixing, and pay for it with a gas tax? Why not bring home the military personnel from Japan, Germany and Korea? Those people can spend their money here, stimulating our economy. Now we have no choice because the pain is getting worse.

Don Curtis

Clinton

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