Federal Deficit, Redbirds' Collision on Baseball Field

Twice the Pain: There are two very painful things to watch this weekend...one is the mounting federal deficit and the other is the video of the two Triple A baseball players from the Memphis Redbirds (the top affiliate of my St. Louis Cardinals) crashing into each other during the Iowa Cubs home opener in Des Moines Saturday night. The debt could hit $15 trillion sometime soon. So what will it take to get rid of it? I don't mean what will it take so that we don't increase the debt as fast. I mean what will it take to actually pay it off. Seems like it would take dramatic changes. Is it really feasible to cut spending by that much? $15 trillion worth? Or will we have to give up something...benefits? services? What about some of our "Bush tax cuts"? Should only the rich pay more? Should the middle class and the rich? Should everyone, regardless of income? We'll find out what Iowans think tonight for the news at 10. Let me know what you think. Now, here's that video our photographer Brandon McCauley shot last night at the I-Cubs. It's the only video that I know of that shows the two Redbirds' players crashing into each other. Both guys suffered concussions, which is no surprise once you see the video.

Cut Taxes or Cut the Deficit?

Congress' Conundrum: Cut taxes or cut the deficit? Is this an "either or" situation? Republicans want to cut the deficit. At least they say they do this time. They failed to stop the deficits from going up for the 20 years Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush served as president. But they say they do want to do it now. Is it because they don't control the White House this time or is it because they have come to terms with the fact that this skyrocketing national debt of ours threatens to completely screw over our children and grandchildren? Democrats have also started to say they want to cut the deficit. They did it the last time a Democrat ruled the White House (Bill Clinton). I do seem to remember Democrats railing on tax cuts on the campaign trail. But that apparently was just the campaign talk at the time. It seems now like the majority of Congress wants to extend tax cuts (Bush 43's) to some degree. The question is who keeps the cuts? People who make less than $200,000 a year (is that rich to you or just a nice living?)? People who make less than $1 million a year? Or should everyone get the tax cut?

Republicans say they can't raise taxes on higher-earners because some of those people (3% according to the Joint Committee on Taxation) are also small business-owners. And if they raise taxes on them, then those people can't hire workers. Here's what I would like to know: These people have enjoyed the tax cuts since 2001 and 2003 (when Congress passed Bush's tax cuts). So shouldn't our unemployment be a lot lower since they were getting those cuts all this time? Is there proof things would get worse if they saw their tax cuts end now? Let's see proof, not rhetoric, please.

Can't Congress do both? Isn't it possible to start working on that ridiculous deficit AND cut taxes, at least for some people? If you believe raising taxes during a recession (or in this case, right after a recession) isn't a good idea for the economy, then can't Congress cut out the political crap and compromise on something that will help people right now? Seriously. How hard is that?