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Senator Bob Corker takes questions form the press following the town hall meeting. |
Senator Bob Corker held a town hall meeting tonight at Belmont University in the 1000-seat Massey Performance Arts Center to a near-capacity crowd. He presented a 20-minute, 19-slide, slide show presenting a gloomy picture of America's debt crisis. This is the fourth-sixth time he has made the presentation across the state. The program was MC'd by Ralph Bristol and broadcast live on Supertalk 99.7.
Senator Corker said the national debt is scheduled to increase to 146 percent of gross domestic product by the year 2030 unless drastic action is not taken. Today the debt is at an all time high of 62 percent of GDP. Unless something is not done, the growing debt will push interest payments on the federal debt up from today's 6 percent of all federal spending to 25 percent by the year 2035. Colored pie charts drove the point home.
Corker proposed that congress place a cap on spending of somewhere between 18 percent to 21 percent of GDP, stating he preferred a cap closer to the 18%. He said that in January he intends to introduce debt capping legislation.
Following the presentation Senator Corker took questions from the audience. While the audience was polite and mostly supportive, their appeared to be an organized effort to ask rehearsed questions that focused on abolishing or auditing the Federal Reserve. Several questioners asked questions along this vein.
Matt Collins, former first vice chair of the Davidson County Republican party, who some may recall was ousted from his leadership roll in the Party last year, was the only person to ask a question or make a comment that some may consider crossed the line from simply being passionate to being insulting. Matt asked Senator Corker if he would support a "full and unrestricted" audit all of the gold held by the Federal Government and the Federal Reserve. Corker said he had never thought about it but would consider it and would respond to Matt in writing. Matt then said something to the effect that since Corker votes contrary to the constitution and had apparently never read the constitution, could he give him a copy. Matt's comment was met with both limited cheers and boos from the audience.
Obviously annoyed, Corker said, "I have read the constitution and carry a copy with me at all times." He said he found the comment "very offensive."
In the press conference following he meeting, Corker was asked his reaction to the just released draft proposal from the U.S. bipartisan deficit reduction commission. Senator Corker said, "I think we have a spending problem and not a revenue problem." He said however that he thinks the commission has taken some "bold steps" in pointing out the problem and it is a "good start." "Every group in America is upset about it," he said, "so it can't be all bad." "At least they have looked at some things and proposed some serious cuts that we all know have to take place."
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Senator Corker is offended when someone tries to hand him a copy of the Constitution? Senator Corker is offended when someone points out his voting record?
ReplyDeleteI find Senator Corker’s big-government voting record offensive. I also find his hypocrisy offensive. I find it offensive that he is trying to pass himself off as a conservative Republican when it comes time for reelection. I find it offensive that he is screaming about a problem that he helped create. I find it offensive that he won’t allow for a full audit of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy. I find it offensive that he only opposes debt and spending when the Democrats hold power. I find it offensive that he has the audacity to stand in front of a crowd and obfuscate about issues so important to our Republic.
Wow, see, I think many of societies problems lie in the fact that people are far too easily offended. I also highly doubt he carries a copy of the constitution with him at all times, but then again I would not expect him to because that is over the top. In terms of a spending problem, if we have a spending problem then we in turn have a revenue problem. You can't have one without the other. We spend far too much money on matters which should not require so much of our attention. War being number one.
ReplyDeleteDid you know that President Bush agreed to give Brazil millions of dollars to help them farm cotton? He did this because the government subsidizes our own farmers here in the US and Brazil said that wasn't fair. Brazil threatened powerful people, planned on pulling trade items, so millions of our tax dollars went to their farmers. Look it up, it's true.
I think things like that are simply ludicrous. And that is only one example.
As a country we need to work together to get out nation out of debt. It is not going to be easy or pretty. It is not going to make anyone 100% happy. But if we want to rise above then we need to make sacrifices now. I want things to be easier for my children.
I work full-time, I have two young boys, one of which has many health issues. My husband was laid off in December 2009. I tell you this not for sympathy. I tell you this because I understand there are times during which things will not be easy. But you get through them. You persevere and come out on top. You are better for it in the end. And it has NOTHING to do with your party affiliation.
Christy:
ReplyDeleteHaving a spending problem does not necessitate a spending problem. Having been unemployed in the past myself, I can tell you that when revenue is cut, cutting spending is a big help on the road to survival.
This government is trying to do more than it is constitutionally mandated to do and spends too much. In Tennessee, we cut spending the past two years and are still in business. Time to cut spending on the federal level, right now.
Matt Collins is a has-been if he ever was somebody. He has devolved into somebody that apparently needs psychiatric help. Let's hope he gets it.
ReplyDelete