November 1, 2007
Editor, The News Journal
Kudos on the David Broder column, “Either pay attention or pay overwhelming price.” It is exciting that the U.S. Senate is holding hearings on how to “head off the bankrupting of America by runaway entitlement programs,” and having all the presidential candidates sitting in the room would be a fine idea.
It is disappointing, however, that the only action suggested is to appoint a bipartisan task force that would talk about things. There was a somewhat similar exercise in 1995, the Bipartisan Commission on Entitlement and Tax Reform, which wound up accomplishing nothing. It is not enough for our political leaders to “talk the talk,” they need to “walk the walk.”
A good first step would be to stop proposing new government initiatives and start dismantling some of the wasteful programs that now exist. With a nearly $3 trillion budget, there are plenty of places to look.
W. Whipple III
Middletown