GOP using national debt to its advantage

There was an event in Washington recently that spoke volumes about the political climate in this country. Student loan interest rates are scheduled to go up this summer. Both political parties agree that the current interest rate reductions should be extended. If not, the interest rates charged for student loans will rise from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent, a rate viewed as being excessive in today’s economy.

So both the Republican-controlled House and the Democratic-controlled Senate proposed legislation to fix the situation. Problem was, they chose different ways to fund it. The Democratic Senate chose to close corporate tax loopholes, while the Republican House chose to cut health care funding. Big difference. There are two things this simple confusion exposed.

First, the Republican House was livid when their plans were exposed and publicized. They claimed they had a previous deal. It seems to me, their rage was caused not by the deal itself, but by their deal being exposed and publicized. I would suggest that if Republicans are embarrassed about what they are doing, they shouldn’t have done it in the first place.

Second, I think this event exposed a fundamental Republican strategy. They have lost the ideological battle over so many social programs (like health care or Social Security) that they are now attempting to use their tax programs, and the debt these tax programs have created, to salvage victory over social programs. For example, every Republican president since (and including) Ronald Reagan has added to the national debt (as a percentage of GDP) each year of their administrations. In good times and bad, the national debt has always increased. Now this debt has become a Republican tool, a deliberate political ploy, to force austerity and salvage an ideological victory.

Phil Graf

Rolling Meadows