The 2012 Presidential campaign has commenced, and amid all the sound and fury about this candidate and that candidate, I notice that most are shading the truth more than a little. For example, leading up to the straw poll in Iowa, and since then, Republican hopefuls all sound the theme that President Obama caused our current economic problems, from the deficit to the recession. Whatever the efficacy of his leadership and actions, which are fair targets for potential opponents, responsibility for causing the deficit and the recession.
We, the people, ought to be calling out anyone who offers a historically inaccurate statement about contemporary affairs on their opportunism, deceit and/or ignorance. The deficit began under, and was caused by, the policies and decisions of the Bush administration; ditto the recession. Charging Obama with responsibility for causing the deficit and the recession is a bizarre rewrite of fact, but it does distract news outlets from the real story, that no one now holding federal office has been very interested in solving the U.S.'s very real and interlocking problems.
To take one example, investing some resources in infrastructure, or new technologies, will create jobs and wealth. Slashing social programs, or calling Social Security an entitlement (it used to be referred to by all as a social safety net), will do neither. So, is there a remedy?
Starbucks CEO Howard Schulz proposed that we boycott incumbents who are not working to end the recession and reduce the deficit, something you and I can do, but will the truly large corporate donors to political campaigns sign on? Still, it's a step worth taking even if, like me, your normal campaign contribution averages ten dollars and perhaps an hour or two of volunteer time.
A step we can all take, however, is to call out people running for office whenever they speak an untruth—like claiming it is possible to balance the budget without raising revenues and without cutting the military budget. I admit that I have only done this a few times over the years, but this time around, I intend to ask candidates who come to my community why they are ignoring the facts and I intend writing them when I read about an incorrect statement in the news. If you need a list of political fictions in wide circulation, try factcheck.org.
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