MY VIEW: Judd Gregg September 2012
Former Senator and CRFB board member Judd Gregg (R-NH) writes in today's The Hill that former President Bill Clinton's call for bipartisanship may be one of the most important messages for this election and the next Congress. Gregg says that the country's tremendous fiscal problem represents so many difficult choices that it will be highly unlikely for one party to be able to impose their will in passing a solution.
[Clinton] pointed out that our problems as a nation are so deep and complex that neither party has the wherewithal to solve them, or for that matter even effectively address them on their own.
The issues are deeply personal to everyone in this nation: Making Social Security solvent over its actuarial life; bringing healthcare costs to a level where they do not absorb 20 percent of GDP; and reforming the tax laws so they produce more revenues through more economic activity and lower rates.
Because they affect everyone in this nation in a very personal way, it is impossible for one party to impose solutions that are unilateral and dogmatic.
The solution according to Gregg is the dedication to finding compromises, which helped produce surpluses in the late 1990s and early 2000s. No matter who is elected in November, it will take leadership and a willingness from both parties to work toward a bipartisan solution.
The issues we confront will not be resolved by the policies put forth in party platforms that are filled with the polemics of folks who wish to shout from the corners of the American field of play.
They will be resolved by leaders who are willing to sit down with their counterparts and – without compromising their core values or purposes – work out agreements that move our nation forward. That way, the American people can have confidence in responsible government, especially on matters of fiscal solvency.
The full article from Judd Gregg can be found here.
"My Views" are works published by members of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, but they do not necessarily reflect the views of all members of the committee.