Here is my letter to Scott Tipton, Republican, 3d District of Colorado. He replaced Ken Salazar. Man, what a change. We went from having a conscientious man who was as progressive as he could be within the bounds of this District to . . .well, . . Scott Tipton. Sheesh.
Anyway, he's now our guy, so though I don't expect to have any luck influencing him, I have to keep trying.
Dear Representative Tipton,
It is way past time to pass an extension to the debt limit. It has to happen, so delay only can cause harm to our Nation. It is also time to recognize three things. Revenues are at an all time low. Second, the country prospered under the tax rates of the nineties, and frankly under substantially higher rates in the fifties, sixties and seventies. Third, there is very little to cut in domestic discretionary spending that will not harm the US. We should be spending more on science, infrastructure, Parks, research and development and the like if we want a prosperous nation that treasures itself and its people.
So we should either pass a clean debt limit increase and deal with these issues in the regular order or we should pass an increase that includes some cuts but also a substantial tax increases. I would be more than happy to see my taxes return to the 1999 rates, but understand that raising taxes on folks like me in the middle class is politically toxic. But the same is not true for taxes on the wealthy. If you define wealthy as the top 5%, my guess is that in our District that is about $100,000 and certainly less than $150,000. At a minimum, those taxes must go up, by a combination of limiting deductions and raising rates and every poll shows that position enjoys substantial support.
As for cuts, a big focus should be the military, especially in the area of contractors. Every study that has looked at it concludes that most of that use of contractors for non-emergency activities is performed more cheaply and efficiently by DOD employees. Other areas include weapons that have little use. For example the Marine Corps continues to plan for the war in the Pacific, with requests for a VTOL version of the F35, which adds substantially to program costs. The V-22 he Osprey also fits that category, an expensive system built in small numbers, in search of a mission. There are others.
Another area to cut is DHS. The traditional activities of its components like the Coast Guard, Customs, and Border Patrol should be untouched, but it is time to trim the bloat that grew from the 9/11 reaction. It is time to put the threat of terrorism in perspective. It is a concern, something to be on our guard about, but certainly not the all consuming fixation it has been. The last ten years have continued to show that the threats from natural disasters continue to be of much greater concern. Other cuts could include allowing Medicare to negotiate Part D drug prices.
As a side note, hopefully you will repudiate your vote for the Ryan Budget, the Medicare part as well as the tax aspects and the rest. The Medicare replacement part which would not do common sense things to save money but rather would keep those costs the same and simply start shifting them to beneficiaries. Yes, I know Ryan claimed that privatization would save costs, but history and common sense demonstrates otherwise. One only needs compare the overhead of Medicare to that of private insurance companies to understand the point.
Mr. Tipton, It is time, long past time.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Gary L. Norton