Iowans got thumped by a treacherous ice storm in January that tested even the hardiest Midwestern mettle. Entire townships in Western Iowa were left without power as heavy layers of ice and blustery winds pulled down utility lines, stripped massive branches from tree trunks and caused hazardous traveling conditions across the state.
At the rate the winter of 2009-10 is going, it seems most likely that the groundhog will see his shadow on February 2, forecasting another six weeks of bleak winter conditions.
When it comes to forecasting the economic recovery, a great deal of uncertainty looms. From my meetings with Iowans the last 12 months, I’ve gauged a growing discontent among people who feel that Washington is downright disconnected and out of touch.
The first year of the Obama presidency has been overshadowed by a partisan attempt to raise taxes and cut Medicare to offset the trillion-dollar cost of a new health care entitlement program. Instead of hammering out a bipartisan solution that would make health care more affordable for families and taxpayers, the Democratic leaders chose the partisan route.
People want Congress to put partisan-policymaking on a detour and address a growing number of uncertainties, from terrorism to taxes. Washington’s billion-dollar bailouts haven’t fixed rising unemployment for the workers on Main Street. But Wall Street executives are still cashing in on six-figure bonuses. Voters know when something doesn’t add up. Facing an incomprehensible $12 trillion national debt, taxpayers don’t understand how Washington can propose a new entitlement health care program when we can’t afford those we have. When so many households are struggling to pay off their credit cards and school loans and make their mortgage, car and daycare payments, Washington’s fiscal house is facing financial disaster.
Iowans sure are tired of Old Man Winter. But they are more fed up with Uncle Sam’s budget mess and the partisan agenda that have cast a shadow over the economic recovery. Unlike a tough winter which is followed by Spring time, the budget mess gets worse, not better.
As the Democratic-led Congress sets to work drafting the next budget, will lawmakers have the political will to take on the trillion-dollar budget deficit? The President’s proposal to enact a partial spending freeze is a start, but freezing a small fraction of the $3.6 trillion federal budget is essentially a symbolic gesture, especially when it starts after the bloated spending of 2009. What’s more, the heavy-lifting necessary to turn the fiscal ship around is anchored in the sky-high spending trajectory of our public entitlement programs.
It’s time for Washington to heed the foreshadowing clue and get serious about unsustainable spending.