Following the final vote to raise the debt ceiling, Congresswoman Hahn chided, "The other side never compromised at all," implicating the Tea Party "extremists", whose reasonable demands for government reduction in spending offended her government-oriented sensibilities.
That the debt ceiling was raised 17 times under President Reagan, a fact which Hahn uses to discredit obstinacy to a clean raising of the debt ceiling, is one of the reasons why this country has to get serious about our debt. Reagan set the debate for limited government, but he did not limit government. His failure, along with the passing negligence of following administrations, has now become the pressing responsibility for today. Hardly an extreme position, as characterized by the Congresswoman
Hahn must acknowledge that the Tea Party came to Congress precisely to disrupt business as usual, like the casual raising of the debt ceiling without necessary cuts to offset the national debt. In her opinion, "To join those two things together [budget cuts and the debt ceiling] was a big problem," yet it was the necessary and principled action for the federal government to make some headway on this issue.
Granted, it is shameful that billion-dollar corporations take advantage of subsidies and loop-holes to side-step paying taxes. On that count, Hahn is right to advocate for closing those loopholes. But raising rates across the board will not help anyone.
Hahn also misjudges the Tea Party thus: "[They] don't believe government has a role in our lives. . .they fundamentally want to completely shrink government and not let it play a role in creating jobs or protecting the environment." Contrary to her mischaracterization, The Tea Party wants to restore the federal government to its enumerated, constitutional powers, not dispense with government outright. Rather than disbanding fire and police departments and eliminating public works projects, the Tea Party wants to rollback the encroachment of the state into all areas of public life, all at the burdensome cost to taxpayers who see less return on their dollar. Besides, when it comes to job creation, environmental protection, and host of interests not enumerated in the Constitution, the private sector can initiate better growth and change.
Furthermore, it is appalling–if not insulting–for the Congresswoman to place all the blame for the looming, dooming deficits on the Bush tax cuts and the two wars in the Middle East (both of which should be stopped, nonetheless); nor is there any evidence that the Obama stimulus create jobs. During that time off misguided economic policy, the nation lost another two million jobs while all the fiat money was siphoned into non-existence Congressional districts and pay-raises for civil servants.
Congresswoman Hahn, if you want to invest in the infrastructure and future of this nation, we must retract the reach of government to its Constitution proscribed limits, return all other delegated powers to the states and the people, and let the American people keep as much of their hard-earned money as they can!
Rather than attacking the one agent of change–the Tea Party–that is attacking the most serious matter confronting our nation–growing nation debt and federal deficits–Congresswoman Hahn ought to moderate her own "extreme" left-wing agenda of government growth and status quo entitlement spending which has brought this nation to the brink of fiscal collapse, not mention killing our economy and stifling necessary job growth.