Invest in our country

Serving our country in Congress would seem an act of patriotism. But this July 4, we see Congress voting to drain the public treasury, allowing our schools and infrastructure to decay, and leaving our loved ones without health care.

All four Arkansas congressmen voted for a massive tax cut that’s pushed the monthly budget deficit to the highest on record. Now Steve Womack has written a bill to cut Medicare and Social Security benefits to pay for it.

As Rep. French Hill puts it, the ballooning of the national debt places the burden on “the shoulders of future generations.” If you can’t find affordable health care, Hill will say, sorry the deficit is too big. Bridges crumbling? Sorry, nothing can be done. Hurricanes? Wildfires? Sorry, look elsewhere.

Social Security and Medicare? Steve Womack and French Hill will look you in the eye and say they must be cut, because budget deficit, you know. Except—if you make $1 million per year and would like a tax cut, then who cares about adding $4 trillion to the national debt?

Why are they so sure they have to cut Medicare and Social Security? Because trickle-down tax-cut economics didn’t work under Reagan, and it won’t work now.

What does work? America works when our schools, our bridges, and our communities are strong. When we invest in our children’s education and our neighbors’ health. When we protect Medicare and Social Security. When we invest in research and our environment that build and sustain our future. In short, when we invest in infrastructure our families, communities and businesses rely on.

Let’s be patriotic and urge our congressmen to re-invest in our country. And if they don’t—in November, we’ll vote for the candidates who are committed to investing in all Arkansans.

LORIEE EVANS and DONNA DRURY Little Rock