Another debate between presidential candidates has taken place. This time the stage was filled with Democrats, and the subjects and arguments were a bit different from when the Republicans duked it out.
But the most interesting part of the debate was not in its content, but in what was so conspicuously absent. Just like Republicans, Democrats lack that one thing that we so badly need in our next president.
Vision.
Sure, there is the general rhetoric from, primarily, Donald Trump about making America great again. Bernie Sanders proposes bold “reforms” that, he thinks, would also make America great. But so far, both men are still producing rhetoric. Not visions. Except for his tax plan, Trump has no real ideas on how to turn his skyscraper-style speeches into actionable legislation. Sanders, on the other hand, has an assortment of actionable ideas but no clue about how they would affect America over the long term.
Both men, optimistic as they may be, fall short of presenting a real vision of America’s future. They come the closest, which is probably why they draw such big crowds. But still – they miss the mark.
People like politicians with visions. But the visions have to both strong in their outlook and resilient in their real-life relevance. The visions must offer an outlook on the future that inspires people, yet be realistic enough to make it through the merciless Congressional grinds.
Most of all, the visions must focus on solving the most pressing domestic policy problem of our time:
The budget deficit.
But wait a second – did we not just ask for visions about the future? How can you be visionary and at the same time talk about something so pedestrian and dry-like-an-accountant’s-humor as the budget deficit?
Let me give it a try. Let me give the speech that I would hope one of our many presidential candidates will one day give as a pledge for his or her tenure in the White House.
My Fellow Americans,
In only a few years we will celebrate a milestone in the life of this nation. The 250th birthday of our great Republic. It will be a time for celebration, as we look back at everything we have accomplished. We will see great leaps of prosperity, we will take joy in how liberty was transformed from a bold idea into reality – and how that reality slowly but relentlessly came to include all of us, regardless of who we are, where we came from.
We will take pride in the fact that America, still today, after a quarter of a millennium, is a place where dreams and hard work can come together and turn ambition into real-life success.
But we will also sum up all the things we have not yet done right. We will recognize all the problems we have yet to solve, all the mistakes that, despite bold and benevolent intentions, have left us with a long to-do list for the future.
Some of our most pressing problems are the result of a deadlock between competing ideas. The deadlock frustrates us, and it is sometimes difficult to acknowledge that the problem is not the ideas, but the deadlock.
There is nothing wrong with the battle of ideas. One of our nation’s greatest accomplishments is the creation of an arena for free speech where opinions, ideas and ideologies can compete for attention and support. And sometimes one idea prevails over its competitors. The best argument has won, and we have found the best way to solve a pressing problem.
Sometimes, though, the battle of ideas can lead to a deadlock in our country’s affairs. That deadlock can exact a price on the future of our country, a price of such a magnitude that we may never be able to pay the bill.
A good example is the fiscal problems of our federal government. For half a century now, Congress has run a deficit almost every year. The debt that those deficits have built is so large now that it is casting a dark, ominous shadow over the future of our country.
This debt is the result of one of the longest lasting deadlocks in our country’s political history, namely the deadlock between Republicans who want to cut taxes and Democrats who want to spend more. When Republicans control Congress they cut taxes without any regard for the spending side of the equation; when Democrats control Congress they increase spending without any regard for the revenue side of the equation.
In the bargain we have mortgaged our children’s future. We have kicked a tax bill down the road for them to pay, a tax bill large enough to turn them into paupers without the means to enjoy the level of prosperity that we have.
It is time for the fiscal deadlock to go away. It is time to once and for all put an end to the most irresponsible practice in Washington. It is time to put an end to chronic budget deficits.
Therefore, I propose a Grand Bargain. I want Republicans and Democrats to exit their trenches, come to the White House and not leave until we have a reform plan to make our government fiscally sustainable.
Here is my Grand Bargain proposal. Republicans are correct when they say that we have to keep taxes low to let people support themselves and their families, and to let entrepreneurs build businesses and create jobs. Democrats, on the other hand, are correct in that we cannot leave behind the poor, the needy and those unable to support themselves.
Let us recognize the moral and economic sense in the arguments from both sides. Let us then build on those arguments.
On the one hand, Republicans will pledge not to push for any more tax cuts. On the other hand, Democrats will recognize that we cannot spend more than what taxpayers can afford.
This agreement gives us a budget for the federal government that can pay for some, but not all of the entitlement programs we have today. But at the same time, it guarantees the fiscal sustainability of those programs.
Once we have an agreement to never again run chronic deficits, let us unite around a set of entitlement programs that make that real difference to people. Let us focus the resources of the federal government on those among us whose future would evaporate if they did not get a helping hand. Let us also make sure that the help we offer is a path to self determination, including everything from welfare to access to education and other means to a life of independence and growth.
With this Grand Bargain I want to preserve and perpetuate two of the most important ideas that have shaped our country. On the one hand, the idea that a free society benefits everyone, not just the wealthy; on the other hand, the recognition that people who try and fail must never be left behind, but given a helping hand to climb back onboard.
For the longest time these two ideas have competed with one another. That competition, again, is not necessarily bad, but when the battle for political influence and power to change this country turns into a destructive deadlock, it is time for all of us to put a foot down. It is time for us to harvest the most productive, most constructive elements from both sides, harness them into realistic legislative solutions – and put them to work.
If we can do that, my fellow Americans, then we will repair the problems caused by decades of deadlock. We will stop mortgaging our children’s future – and we will prepare this country for another 250 years of liberty, prosperity and opportunity for all.
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Sven Larson, Ph.D., is an economist and Member of the Council of Scholars of Compact for America. He is the author of Industrial Poverty (Gower Publishing) about the debt crisis in Europe. Find his daily blog articles at America’s Fiscal Future.