FRANKFORT —
FRANKFORT — Harry Truman once said his Republican opponents employed a “If you can’t convince them, confuse them” strategy.
That’s not just a Republican tactic these days. It seems to be the favored way politicians of every stripe talk to the public. Unfortunately, many of the issues which confront us these days are pretty complicated and easily confusing to both policy makers and the public. Try understanding the pension problems facing Kentucky or choosing between economic visions offered by Republican Congressman Paul Ryan or Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman or understanding the health care debate.
Polling indicates the healthcare reform is unpopular, that many see it as a “government takeover of health care,” a phrase used by Republicans who say they will repeal the Affordable Healthcare Act. But when the individual components of the law are tested in the same polls, comfortable majorities approve them.
Mitt Romney promises to repeal the law if elected but refuses to explain how or why it’s different from the health care reform he passed in Massachusetts when he was governor and on which the federal law is modeled.
Everyone wants to lower the deficit and national debt, but they all have different remedies and all of the remedies are painful to someone. Republicans want to do it all by cutting domestic programs but oppose cuts to the defense budget. Democrats want to do it with fewer cuts to domestic spending, more in defense and increasing tax increases on the wealthy.
Simple math says both sides are wrong. Taxing the top 5 percent at higher rates won’t produce enough revenue to staunch the red ink. Lowering tax rates and preserving defense spending as proposed by Ryan, the chairman of the House budget committee, would increase both the deficit and debt. He wants to close tax loopholes but he won’t say which ones. Democrats say they’re willing to make some cuts in entitlement programs, but they won’t say how.
We get focus-group tested, carefully crafted “talking points” on the issues confronting us. Instead of straight talk, we hear politicians talk about “crony capitalism,” “consumer driven health care,” and “class warfare” or “Wall Street greed.”
Sometimes politicians hearken back to the good old days. Republicans would have you believe we taxed income less in those days and our economy performed better. In fact, tax rates are the lowest they’ve been in 30 years. Only for a brief period toward the end of the Reagan years were the top rates lower than they are now. And those were offset by closing loopholes — which both Democrats and Republicans in Congress rapidly put back into the tax code. But you wouldn’t know that by listening to today’s political debate. Few people realize that only once in our history did we pay off the national debt to zero. That was in 1836 when Andrew Jackson was president and it was followed by the financial panic of 1837.
Nor would you know that the health care industry today bears little resemblance to that of 40 years ago. Procedures which now are routine, such as heart by-pass surgery, didn’t exist; statin drugs hadn’t been developed; and insurance companies were cooperative, not-for-profit organizations of shared risk. No one expected employers or their health insurance to pay for all their routine prescriptions. But then, back then, few people were treated with years of blood pressure or cholesterol drugs. A lot of productive people in today’s world would’ve been dead back then.
But in the world of political campaigns, no one wants to confuse voters with the facts.
Ronnie Ellis writes for CNHI News Service and is based in Frankfort. Reach him at rellis@cnhi.com. Follow CNHI News Service stories on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cnhifrankfort
Viewpoints
Related Photos
-
Ronnie Ellis
Don’t be confused by facts
- Viewpoints
-
-
Graduation Day
It is that time of year again.
Some years ago, I was invited to speak at the graduation ceremonies of a liberal arts college. Later, many in the audience told me they expected a very political speech. Some of them were relieved; others were disappointed. I don't do politics at graduation.
Graduation is about life.
My high school graduation was OK. I gave a speech. My family was there, intact, probably as happy as they ever were (But did I know?). We went out for Chinese food afterward. -
Coal problem worth tackling in Washington and Frankfort
Despite hysterical cries from radical environmentalists, neither Sen. Rand Paul’s Defense of Environment and Property Act nor Sen. Mitch McConnell’s Coal Jobs Protection Act would allow activities that bring harm to Kentucky’s wildlife or waterways for the sake of propping up the coal industry.
-
Peter Perlman — Life lessons from a lawyer’s lawyer
One of the great moments of my life was sitting next to legendary Louisville attorney Frank Haddad at a luncheon when he learned he had received the first Peter Perlman Outstanding Trial Lawyer award from the Kentucky Academy of Trial Lawyers.
As they started his bio, the surprised Frank started crying like a baby. A sudden heart attack took him less than a year later. Winning the Perlman award was the crowning achievement of his career. -
Credit score insanity
Frequently, people stop me and ask me personal finance questions.
The most common is how to improve their credit history score.
If you need to improve your credit score, it means you have lousy credit. Before fixing the score, people need to ask how their credit got so bad to begin with. -
‘Tells’ about who will blow their money
Kentucky Derby week is one where gambling takes a forefront in my life. Along with the non-stop activities in my home state, I am speaking at a dinner for the Society of Settlement Professionals in Las Vegas and a film crew from Italy is flying in from Rome to interview me for a documentary about lottery winners.
-
Viewpoints change when critics gain power
Scandals like those roiling Washington often look more or less nefarious as time and facts unfold. After all, what at first looked like a third-rate burglary turned into Watergate.
I doubt the scandals around Benghazi, the IRS and subpoenas of Associated Press phone records reach Watergate status — but we must await more information and time to know. -
Trouble’s last ride
When announcing my retirement, I made reference to letting “Trouble” having one last ride.
-
Going from school to work requires preparation, faith
(Editor’s Note: After graduating from EKU on Saturday, Seth Littrell came to work Monday at the Richmond Register as a reporter/photographer.)
This past Saturday weekend I graduated from Eastern Kentucky University with my bachelor’s in journalism.
It was the single goal I had been working toward for the past four years, and as I walked across that stage I realized I was the first person in my family to do so. -
Report on former EKU Center for the Arts director called 'biased, unfair'
I am writing in response to the Richmond Register’s May 3, 2013, article concerning the former Executive Director of the EKU Center for the Arts. The article I reference appeared on the front page of your newspaper with the headline “Sexual harassment, other offenses alleged in Hoskin’s records in 740 pages of documents.”
-
Recognizing those who provide care
How fitting it is that the beginning of National Nursing Home Week is Mother’s Day, May 12.
- More Viewpoints Headlines
-
Raw: Trucker Bumps I-5 Bridge Before Collapse
Raw: Texas Deputy Shot by Colo. Suspect Honored
Major Detours Following Wash. Bridge Collapse
American Held in Grisly Czech Murders
Raw: Jersey Shore Reopens for Summer
UK-bound Pakistan Plane Diverted, 2 Men Arrested
Officials: Tsarnaev Friend Linked to Slaying
Obama:Sexual Assault Threatens Trust in Military
Bridge Collapse Survivor: 'Rough Day'
Jersey Shore Open for Business
Raw: Memorial Day Flags Placed at Arlington
New Wheelchair Lift Promises More Access
First Person: Mom Discusses Famous Tornado Photo
Raw Video: Washington State Bridge Collapse
Boy Scouts Approve Plan to Accept Gay Boys
