A Response to Dr. Nan Hayworth (R-NY-19)

Today, my friends, Dr. Nan Hayworth, my member of the House representing New York's 19th Congressional District, "spoke" to her constituents via our regional newspaper, The Times Herald Record.

Please allow me to excerpt her statements and reply...

HAYWORTH: We have reached a point at which we must pay the bills our government has accumulated...

BARKER: Nan. Just off the top of my head I believe bond interest payments come to around $40 billion a month while federal revenues are in the neighborhood of $200 billion a month. Default upon debt was never in the cards. Period.

HAYWORTH: To pay the bills, we must raise the Treasury's debt ceiling...

BARKER: Again, Nan, as just demonstrated, that's simply not true. All you'd be voting for is to pile new debt upon unsustainable old debt.

HAYWORTH: I am working with my colleagues in Congress to find a solution that addresses the current debt crisis, reduces wasteful spending and preserves the full faith and credit of the United States.

BARKER: Hmm... now it's "reduces 'wasteful' spending." Not just "spending." Cute. I believe I see where this is going. As for the "full faith and credit of the United States," that's part of the problem. You people in Washington are abusing that credit and refuse to stop. Both the Executive and Legislative branches of government have been totally irresponsible and appear willing to continue dragging the country into the muck of unsustainable and ever-growing debt. By the way, Nan, monetizing the debt is just another way of screwing our international creditors and they know it; the Chinese have already downgraded U.S. credit/debt. (This was noted in a newsbites awhile back.)

HAYWORTH: ...the federal government does not create jobs...

BARKER: That's right, Nan.

HAYWORTH: ...raising taxes at a time like this would be a very bad idea.

BARKER: Depends. Markets crave stability and certainty. What needs to be done is to totally reform the U.S. tax code so as to make it flatter and fairer. By fairer, this means we don't let 51% of American families off the hook when it comes to federal income taxes. If only politicians such as yourself had the guts to echo me on this.

HAYWORTH: We can reform our tax code and close loopholes, as the president has urged, but we must do so without a net increase in the nation's tax burden. It takes time to rewrite thousands of pages of tax code.

BARKER: Again, Nan, any federal income tax which allows large numbers of American families to "ride free" off the income taxes paid by other American families is a tax code which the Founders would decry and one which I decry. Please show some courage and dare to tell people what they may not want to hear, if only because they need to hear it.

HAYWORTH: The plan that Speaker John Boehner has introduced, to allow us to raise the debt ceiling responsibly...

BARKER: Nan. You know this is bullshit. I've laid out the numbers on my blog. Simply refusing to face the math isn't governing, Nan - it's shirking your responsibility.

HAYWORTH: For years, the federal government, Republicans and Democrats alike, has lacked the discipline to stop deficit spending.

BARKER: And the Boehner-Hayworth Plan follows in this shameful pattern. Nan. You're asking for more borrowing authority to funding continuing deficit spending. Some of your statements here are quite frankly Orwellian.

HAYWORTH: We now have a responsibility to make difficult decisions...

BARKER: But that's exactly what you're refusing to do, Nan. You're simply going along to get along - just like most politicians. I am ashamed of you.

HAYWORTH: As the daughter of elderly parents, I understand how much our seniors rely on Social Security and Medicare, and I am working hard with my colleagues in Congress to protect those benefits.

BARKER: Nan. Are you familiar with the concept of... er... math? Do you know what the term "underfunding" refers to? Here's an assignment for you: Research the ratio between "contributions" made by Americans of various ages and incomes to the [looted] "lock box" and compare and contrast to the anticipated payouts. Nan... this isn't Hillary Clinton and cattle futures; in the real word - yes... even with the power of compound interest - when enough people "contribute" one-third... one-quarter... one-fifth of what they can be expected to reap from the program.. (*PAUSE*)... the math says the program will sooner or later collapse under it's own weight (dragging general government down in the process) no matter how "well intentioned" the program is.

HAYWORTH: Our most pressing obligation is to ensure that the benefits that have been promised to those receiving them today, and that are anticipated by those who will soon be eligible, will be reliably funded. As we explore common-sense reforms so that Social Security and Medicare can fulfill its mission for future generations, we know that we must preserve what our seniors rely on.

BARKER: You don't hear a word I'm saying, do you? You just mouth these same platitudes mouthed by politicians over the past seventy-something years.

HAYWORTH: While it's likely that the final plan congressional leaders will agree upon will not go as far to cut spending as I would like...

BARKER: Oh, there we go! It's not your fault... it's "their" fault. You have no choice... (*SMIRK*) Nan. Your plan doesn't cut spending at all. It simply allows further debt to be piled upon the shoulders of children without trust funds.

HAYWORTH: Our nation didn't get into this fiscal mess overnight, and we aren't going to get out of it overnight, either...

BARKER: Nan. This plan envisions deficits as far as the eye can see and something like an additional $9 trillion is debt piled on over the next decade. Again... I'm ashamed of you.