Napa Valley Register - Rep. Thompson hosts budget forum in Napa
On Monday night, Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, hosted a community meeting at Napa City Hall to discuss the country's debt crisis, asking local residents to chime in on where they believe cuts should be made.
In all, more than 150 people turned out for the meeting, where Thompson outlined the financial woes that have come to dominate political discussions in Washington.
“Right now, the issue is very, very front and center in the minds of most Americans,” he told the crowd.
Early in the presentation, Thompson pegged the national debt at roughly $14.2 trillion.
While federal spending is divided over various different areas â€" including defense spending, Social Security and medical programs â€" Thompson said the nation's current fiscal state can be boiled down to a “fundamental imbalance” in the nation's finances.
“We spend more money than we take in,” he said.
During the 2010 fiscal year, the federal government brought in roughly $2.2 trillion in revenue while at the same time spending about $3.5 trillion. The result, Thompson said, was a roughly $1.3 trillion deficit.
Facing such dramatic shortfalls, Thompson said there would only be two certainties as Congress searched for budget fixes â€" spends reductions will have to take place, and there will be debate over those reductions.
Before opening the meeting to members of the public, Thompson touched upon some of the recommendations made by the White House's bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, also known as the Simpson-Bowles commission.
The commission, Thompson said, called for a total of $50 billion in immediate spending reductions, which would be taken from both defense and non-defense spending.
Members of the audience had their own ideas about how to close the nation's budget gap, with recommendations ranging from corporate tax reform to a second wave of stimulus
funding.
Another popular point of discussion throughout the evening was federal entitlement programs, such as Social Security and Medicare, with many speakers calling for the institution of “means testing” â€" measures to ensure that those who do not need the programs do not continue to benefit from them.
Thompson agreed that both programs were in need of some revisions, but noted that changes being proposed by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis. â€" including Medicare vouchers â€" were unacceptable.
“As far as I'm concerned, doing away with Medicare is a non-starter,” Thompson said.
While partisan divides that have characterized previous forums hosted by Thompson were largely absent from Monday's gathering, the congressman recognized that the nation's finances are a hot-button issue, and stressed the need for increased collaboration across the aisle.
“This is our government, we're all working as Americans,” he said. “We need to have fair and honest discussion â€" fair and honest debate on the issues.”
Monday's meeting was the fifth such forum held throughout the 1st Congressional District, Thompson said. Previous stops were made in Lakeport, Davis, Sonoma and Eureka.