Let’s be honest here. Politicians are not very big on telling us the truth. They have their own agendas and owe support to many different special interest groups that got them elected.
So why do we put up with this?
Are we so disinterested in the direction of or country that we’ll allow rampant dishonesty and corruption to dictate our future?
I know there are many out there who hear this and want to point to the party that they don’t support. Assuming that only the other party is dishonest is either blind ignorance or stupidity.
Let’s look at this year’s first Presidential Debate between the two major candidates to see how honest politicians are.
Obama said he has proposed a $4 trillion deficit reduction plan, said health care premium rates were rising slower than they have over the past 50 years, that we take money we’ve been saving from the two wars and use it to rebuild America, that Romney wants to create $8 billion in tax cuts, and that Romney’s tax plan would burden middle class Americans.
The facts say something different. Obama’s 4 trillion reduction plan is actually $2 trillion. He lumps in $2 trillion in cuts from an agency operating budget cut and $880 million in war savings that were not part of his plan. Health care premiums have risen by $2400 for job-based family insurance policies since 2009, faster than wages and economic growth.
The two wars were mostly paid for with a loan. With them ending there isn’t just some magical pile of cash that we can use to rebuild the country.
Finally, Obama’s statements about Gov. Romney’s tax plan are misleading. Romney wants to cut the income tax rate by 20 percent and get rid of the estate tax and the alternative minimum tax. This will end up cutting $465 billion in taxes by 2015, $5 trillion over 10 years.
Romney wants to pay for this with a more efficient, simple tax system that gets rid of or reduces tax credits, exemptions and deductions. However, Romney has not said what exactly he would cut or reduce. Romney is also counting on his tax plan to stimulate economic growth. This would take the burden off the middle class because the tax revenue from the stimulated economy would make up for the tax revenue lost.
So, we have plenty of fallacies and exaggerations from the president, but his opponent didn’t provide any better service to the truth.
Romney stated that Obama wants to put a death panel in charge of Obama care, Obama’s economic policies failed because there are $23 million people out of work, gas prices have doubled since Obama took office, he will cut programs that are not critical enough to borrow money from China, and that the Congressional Budget Office says 20 million people will lose their insurance because of Obama care.
Here is the truth. The Independent Payment Advisory Board for Obama care will not determine what kind of care anyone can receive. That is written into the law.
Romney said 23 million people are out of work but that is false. 12.5 million are out of work but Romney added in people who are working part time to his overall figure.
Gas prices have doubled since the president took office, but the president has little to no effect on the rise of gas prices. Gas prices are affected by many things ranging from crude oil prices to refiners being able to meet the demands of the market.
China has only an 8 percent stake in the United States debt. Two-thirds of the $16 trillion national debt is owed to the federal government. Surprisingly, the biggest stake belongs to the Federal Reserve.
Romney’s interpretation of the CBO’s statement is only a half truth. The CBO presented four scenarios ranging from a 20 million decrease to a 3 million increase in employer provided insurance coverage.
This blatant dishonesty and misrepresentation of the facts by all sides is sickening. We cannot possibly trust our government if they are not willing to shoot straight with us. Politicians seem to think that the political benefits from their lies simply outweigh the penalties, and this behavior will not go away unless the American people demand change and compromise.
