Times-Standard - Chalking up the debt: Congressman Mike Thompson delivers presentation on future of federal budget
Dozens of people turned out for the presentation, pushing for an end to U.S. military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as substantial tax reform that would decrease the number of tax breaks for individuals whose income exceeds $250,000 annually. Others in the audience, meanwhile, expressed concern over the uncertain future of the Social Security system, which made up roughly 20 percent of federal spending in 2010, according to the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.
”It's not rocket science. We spent more money than we took in,” Thompson said of the current national deficit, which amounts to roughly $43,000 per person. “We're in a very fragile economic recovery. This is important, and I think we need to be very cognizant
of how we spend our taxpayers money.”
Thompson, D-St. Helena, prefaced the forum by saying that he wanted to hear what Humboldt County residents had to say about the debt level, and stressed the need to come up with solutions that he could take back with him to Washington, D.C., on Saturday was the fifth of seven such presentations that Thompson plans throughout his 1st Congressional District, all of which focus on the commission report.
One of the only consensus ideas that floated around the room in the two hour session was to reduce defense spending, which made up 23 percent of the roughly $3.5 trillion in federal spending in 2010. Thompson largely agreed with the sentiment, drawing a cheer from the crowd when he mentioned Jason Wattle, the son of Humboldt County 4th District Supervisor Virginia Bass who was injured last December while serving for the U.S. Marines in Afghanistan.
”The last thing I want to happen is for anyone else's kid to have to go to fight in a war,” Thompson said. “War should always be the last option.”
Another common theme from the group was to implement radical tax reform, which would place a greater burden on the top income percentage of the tax bracket to erase the deficit.
When Thompson asked for a show of hands for those who believed that increasing taxes for those who make $250,000 or more annually is one way to help bridge the gap, nearly all of those in the room agreed.
As one of a handful of proposals detailed in the 65-page commission report, deficits across the board would be slashed by $4 trillion by 2020, with the goal of reaching a balanced annual budget by 2015. To do that, some $50 billion in immediate cuts will be made in 2015, along with a cap on discretionary spending through 2020.
”It's not going to be easy,” Thompson said. “If it was going to be easy, it would already be done. The low lying fruit is gone.”
Along with an emphasis on tax reform, Thompson stressed the importance of the future of health care, an issue he said drew more debate than any other in his 13 years representing the 1st Congressional District. Thompson said that last year's health care reform was a good start, but that a great deal of work still remained.
When one woman said she was worried if her next Social Security check would arrive in the mail, Thompson responded by saying that there is enough money to fully fund the program until 2037, at which point only 75 percent would be covered given current legislation. Along with other changes, the commission's report calls for an increase in age to qualify for benefits, bumping the current cut-off to 68 years old by 2050, and 69 by 2075.
”We're not growing fast enough, and it certainly won't get us where we need to be,” Thompson said. “But it's not insurmountable to deal with this.”
For Bass, the forum instilled a sense of hope for the future, which she said Thompson accurately depicted as “grim.”
”I really appreciate him [Thompson] asking for the public's input like that,” Bass said after the forum. “I think it really helps the process when you have people who bring forth suggestions that we can all use.”
Chair and 3rd District Supervisor Mark Lovelace, meanwhile, said that while he was pleased Thompson heard local concerns, he hoped that Humboldt County residents understood the gravity of looming cuts.
”We all see the value of the programs that benefit us, but you really have to look at what benefits others as well,” Lovelace said. “We need to think broadly about these solutions, not just for Humboldt County but for the country as a whole.”