During his annual State of the Union Address last Tuesday, President Barack Obama alluded to a debate that needs to be taken more seriously.

“For several years now, this town has been consumed by a rancorous argument over the proper size of the federal government. It’s an important debate,” Obama said.

Until entitlement and tax reform are addressed, our elected officials have not seriously had or resolved the argument about the proper size of the federal government.

Conservatives should be able to appreciate the fact that Obama is willing to concede that this debate is an important one. But conservatives need to lead this discussion because Democrats are unwilling to risk electoral victories to have it.

The reality is that much of the political discourse in the United States today regarding domestic policy is over relatively petty issues. This is because both parties are unwilling to talk about issues that really matter, like entitlement and tax reform.

The GOP has also chosen the wrong issues to focus on.

Republicans have been periodically consumed by debates regarding the raising of the federal debt ceiling and the validity of Obama’s political appointees.

Failing to raise the debt ceiling would be a completely idiotic move for the U.S. that could have long-term consequences for the overall health of the nation, as well as the reputation of the Republican Party. And no Congress in recent memory has ever made so much of a stink about Obama’s right to appoint members to his cabinet and staff.

While Republicans have essentially only provided lip service to the debate over the proper size of government, Democrats have mostly hid behind the rhetoric of fear mongering. The argument that most conservatives want to cut off any aid to the poor or the elderly is absurd, but it has proven to be politically effective.

Unfortunately both parties, for politically obvious reasons, have refused to address the underlying structural issues that have led to enormous budget deficits and will continue to do so if the status quo holds.

To say that entitlement reform is politically unpopular would be a drastic understatement. Conversely, Republicans have remained completely unwilling to even consider raising taxes on the wealthiest tax bracket because they’re so reliant on donors within that bracket.

It’s ludicrous that some Republicans remain oblivious to the fact that entitlement reform will never be accomplished without tax reform, and vice versa.

This debate needs to be about reducing the federal debt. In order to resolve it, both parties need to take the time to reassess which social programs really do work and which need to be ameliorated or slashed altogether. In addition, both parties also need to push forward with tax reform, making sure the wealthy pay their fair share in taxes and don’t receive unjust tax credits through loopholes.

Unfortunately for both parties, addressing these large, politically contentious issues has become counterintuitive towards being elected.

The debate over the proper size and scope of government cannot really take place in a society in which elected officials are primarily concerned with preserving their own power through the preservation of the status quo — especially when the status quo is selfishly defended by those lucky enough to gain political access and influence.

It is high time that an active and engaged citizenry demanded a more honest political debate about the issues that really matter. In this case, that’s the proper size and scope of the federal government.

Ethan Demers is a senior political science and history major. His column appears weekly. He can be reached at [email protected].

 

 

 

Published on February 5, 2014 at 2:50 am