Comments about ‘Jennifer A. Marshall: In politics, as in basketball, pride marks the road to destruction’

The national debt can be significantly reduced by doing things that conservatives refuse to do:

1. Admit, when they are in office, that deficits matter.

2. Reduce spending on military by reducing our foreign interventions and wars.

3. Reduce government spending for contractors, especially in defense and national security. Stop forcing weapons programs on the Pentagon that they do not want or need.

4. Stop thinking everything should be privatized. I know of former federal employees who are now contractors being paid 3 times as much for the exact same work.

5. Stop corporate welfare, including subsidies for highly profitable companies.

6. Either raise the tax rates, especially for the wealthy and for big business, or reduce or eliminate deductions and credits.

This deficit is self-inflicted because we are beholden to special interests. We can deal with this, but Republicans, who are screaming the loudest about deficits, are the ones fighting the hardest to protect special interests. If they are serious, follow these steps and I am betting we will be in great shape as a nation.

And liberals fail to acknowledge:
1. Deficits matter when they are in power.
2. Stop sending the military to Afghanistan and Libya.
3. Wasteful defense spending is bipartisan. Cut spending, but don't send troops into battle without preparation as in Korea and Iraq.
4. Stop thinking that the government can do everything cheaper and better.
5. Corporate welfare goes to the film industry, GE Corp. Wall St. and other industries that are big liberal donors.
6. Admit that congress passes tax incentives (loop holes) to guide investment. Sending more tax money to Washington is not the formula for economic success.
7. Special interests are part of politics, think ACORN, unions, farm subsidies, etc. There are 700+ exemptions for the Affordable Care Act given by the president to special interests.