Fiscal austerity—aka, reducing the deficit—endangers our lives. Deficit spending lies behind virtually all the social services, public amenities, and consumer safety standards that distinguish the U.S. from Rwanda, Bangladesh or Guyana. The Chicago Tribune recently reported that Congress is “moving to eliminate the only national program that regularly screens U.S. fruits and vegetables for the type of E. coli that recently caused a deadly outbreak in Germany.” Clearly, this $4.5 million program is too expensive. (Note to reader: $4.5 million is just over half the median pay for top executives at the nation’s 200 largest firms, according to The New York Times. Executive pay is up 23 percent over 2009. What if each of these guys chipped in a measly $22,500 so the rest of us could eat untainted food?)
Furthermore, the 2009 infrastructure report card issued by the American Society of Civil Engineers gave the U.S. a D–clear evidence that we are “underperforming” in all areas. Aviation, bridges, dams … the list goes on. America spends only 2.4 percent of GDP on infrastructure, while Europe and China spend more than twice as much. Want safe roads? Sorry, too expensive…
In fact decent societies don’t “cost too much.” The real problem is that our government, held hostage by right-wing extremists, won’t spend enough.
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