These debt talks have only proven that we have very few politicians with the country's best interests in mind. Most are more concerned about what will be held against them in the next campaign cycle rather than how to reduce our enormous deficit.
Despite what republicans say, tax rates aren't particularly high for the richest in this country and as much as they would like (and as much as their donors would like) "trickle down" economics doesn't work. And the democrats need to accept that social security and medicare have not been managed well and need better rules and regulations if these programs are to exist into perpetuity. Moreover, republicans should realize that regardless of what delusions they harbor about social programs, cutting their funding en masse would leave millions of Americans without healthcare and retirement money that they depend on. Leaving the 65 and over crowd high and dry probably won't play out favorably for anyone.
Most importantly, they all need to realize that playing this drawn out game of political chicken does have consequences. Foreign investors don't take kindly to lending money to those that don't make their payments on time. Jumpy investors pull their money out of the market. When the money dries up, businesses lay off workers to avoid having to close their doors altogether. And while all this plays out right in front of us, each and every politician in this drama is in a huddle with their advisers, trying to figure out how best to heap the blame on someone else.
Can we please stop acting like a bunch of babies? I don't care what tax pledge your party took or which election is coming up. Do what needs to be done and do it now.
