Teabaggers get ready for their big party
Filed under: Economy
There seem to be a few folks with too much time on their hands and a huge amount of frustration over losing the election last November. And tomorrow they're going to have a little tea party -- a nationwide protest in 500 cities and towns is scheduled for Wednesday -- to let everyone know just how angry they are. I have no problem with this in theory. As long as they pay their taxes, they have a right to express their opinion about how the government is spending "their" money -- though the tea-bagging ceremonies strike me as a little bit like throwing spitballs in sixth-grade history class.
If the teabaggers were real patriots, however, they would come up with real alternatives to fix the problems about which they're complaining. As best as I can tell, teabaggers draw their inspiration from an on-air rant by CNBC's Rick Santelli back on February 19 when he complained that Obama's $75 billion bailout of mortgage defaulters "rewarded bad behavior." Interestingly, Santelli has no problem with the other $12.725 trillion -- out of a total of $12.8 trillion -- being spent to bail out Wall Street's bad behavior.
Santelli's complaint about the 0.6 percent of the government bailout for those who took on mortgages they can't afford to pay back has inspired others who don't like the $787 billion stimulus package and President Obama's $3.6 trillion budget. While the people Santelli is defending may account for a large proportion of CNBC's viewers and advertisers, the only way they will account for a meaningful portion of the electorate is if they can convince enough people to vote against their economic interests.
That's because between 2001 and 2008, median income fell while the cost of living rose so much that the only way the average family could keep up was to borrow $2.5 trillion. Meanwhile, U.S. federal debt rose from $5 trillion to $11.3 trillion as the government developed a record $1 trillion budget deficit.
The teabaggers might get a kick out of mailing tea bags to Washington -- but that is why sixth graders are not running the country. Teabaggers have every right to stomp their feet and carry on, but as citizens it would be helpful if they channeled their anger into better solutions. Here are six principles I think we should follow to fix things. What do you think?
Peter Cohan is president of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College. His eighth book is You Can't Order Change: Lessons from Jim McNerney's Turnaround at Boeing.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 13)
4-14-2009 @ 4:43PM
r.e.b. said...
The republicans might save about half that tea for them-
selves. They helped a bunch getting our nation into this
mess they so eagerly now wish to pass on to our current
leadership.....
Reply
4-14-2009 @ 5:15PM
Mike said...
what about the trillions since the election?
4-14-2009 @ 5:52PM
earth mama said...
but who put us there? and now we have to bail out the greedy past administration and the economy they tanked...if you thought there was a quick and painless fix, think again.........sooooooooo?
4-14-2009 @ 10:54PM
Pat said...
Leadership now ? we have not had a leader since ... Regan .... what a bunch of fools we have now --- some change -- starting with Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House, Christopher Dodd for taking AIG money and lets not forget the winner Barney Frank has been in Congress since 1981 and is the Chairman of the Financial Services Committee. So please we need a tea party or some type of showing that the middle class the silent majority has had enough of over spending, high taxes, and having to take care of those who are over their heads in debit or full of greed. We need middle of the line politics --- we need to stand up and we need true change --- not this team of fools!
4-15-2009 @ 12:47PM
micah said...
why does it need to be about republicans or democrats?
it doesnt matter if one made a little more debt than the other debt has still been made and the thing is there are people on both sides of the political coin that might not like the way that congress is trying to spend OUR hard earned money. they say all they have to do is be in the office for 1 term and then they can just sit back relax and declare a pension for the rest of their life, how is that justice? how is that any type of republic, or democracy? that seems like blatant stealing and the 'tea parties" are for groups of people, of Americans to come together and say that we are tired of this lack luster style antics in how they spend the money. They take from the people and inject it into the system in such an awkward way giving it to companies to pad the ability for them to even out their credit default swaps that went extremely sour and seeing that should sicken everyone of us. If they gave us more money to spend to inject into the economy as we see fit then things would run smoother because "We the people" know what we need and what we need will help us get through the hard times.
my $.02
4-14-2009 @ 4:52PM
Teresa said...
Here's an alternative plan -- let people keep more of their own money. Then you won't need a massive bureaucracy to oversee collecting my money and redistributing it to others.
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4-14-2009 @ 4:55PM
Cathy Condello said...
You are an idiot and don't have a clue what any of this is about. I am a registered republican who voted for Obama. I am not protesting him. I think our congress sucks. They are totally disgusting to me and I don't think there is an honest one in the bunch. If we could get a look into their offshore accounts, I'm sure we would all be shocked. You know what really makes me angry? All the opinions on the news programs and no real truth. Someone is lying and I could just scream. By the way, I'm not taking any tea with me tomorrow. It costs too much to waste and I'm laid off.
All your snide comments don't help anything. If Washington quit wasting money and lining their own pockets as well as those of their big supporters, we wouldn't be in this mess. I used to be a flag waver. Now I'm just a disgruntled citizen who believes we are selling our children's future down the drain because of the criminal element in congress.
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4-14-2009 @ 6:35PM
Thomas H. Evans said...
So where were you when this was all taking place. Someone (maybe you) should have stood up and blew the whistle. It was about lining their pockets, but you let it happen.
4-14-2009 @ 10:08PM
Bill said...
You got what you deserved. Next time vote with your head.
4-14-2009 @ 5:01PM
Dave said...
Both political party's will be at these Tea Party's! These protests are against Congress not reading the bills and voting on them anyway and putting the American people deep into debt.
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4-15-2009 @ 10:45AM
NORMA said...
DAVE, I AM AGAINST THE TAX POLICIES. OUR GOV'T. IS SPENDING OUR MONEY LIKE IT BELONGS TO THEM. OUR PRESIDENT IS BEING TOLD BY CONGRESS WHAT TO DO AND WHAT NOT TO DO. WHO WILL SUFFER WILL BE MY GRANDCHILDREN.
4-14-2009 @ 4:58PM
Teabagger10 said...
What do I think? I think you have no clue of the frustration of working 16 hour days and then having the local, state and federal government taking a combined 42% of every dollar earned. If you think that means I am a "rich" person try using what is left to pay 2 college tuitions (with zero aid) health insurance, car insurance, mortgage payments, etc. and forget about saving for retirement.
If it's not my money, whose is it--why not just take it all from everyone and give it out the way the government sees fit. Then at least I'll know the rules and just sit on a front porch and take what they give me.
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4-14-2009 @ 9:51PM
IHS said...
Exactly! Good call. Lazy people by the boat full looking for more handouts than a kid on halloween, give me, give me, give me typical liberal. They seem to want to blame Bush for this mess, how nieve these people are. This mess started way before Bush and happened on a democratic congress. What do you know.
4-15-2009 @ 11:34AM
TomT said...
Your tax cuts went into effect today. Do you remember that?Now we need to get healthcare through.
4-14-2009 @ 5:02PM
CHECKERS said...
Tea Bags ?, Sixth Graders ?, History ?,,The slanted MEDIA ? It does not matter if your Democrate or Republican, it's a systamatic method of dividing the population.
Here's what worked: A NEW ROPE
When we are hungry, and they say "Let Them Eat Cake" maybe,,just maybe the hungry will do something meaningful that we can all get behind it.
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4-14-2009 @ 11:44PM
Lorrie said...
It's a demonstration to show Congress and the President that the people do not approve of how they are "running" or "ruining" the American way of life. If anyone can lead the people to a legal way to get rid of this Administration, I wish he or she would make such a proposal.
4-14-2009 @ 5:06PM
Bob said...
Is that the best you have? Blame it all on the Republicans! As soon as your personal evolution allows you to think for yourself, outside of the predictable left mindset. You might pen something worth reading.
Reply
4-14-2009 @ 5:04PM
Oyler said...
What do you think? ===> I don't think it's a matter of "Teabaggers" only being Republicans. It's a matter of ordinary Americans knowing that their President and their Congress are "out of touch", "out of control", and unwilling to hear and act upon their constituents wishes. Right now, these sixth-grader "Tea Parties" are a lot better than full-on adult riots or organized violence. Today's Americans are far less ignorant, far more learned, and are far more capable of understanding complex financial concepts than they were two hundred years ago. We need Congress to step up to the plate and start explaining what is happening, where our money is going, and how the money WE are providing for "stimulus" is going to benefit our situation. We need more rational thought from our elected officials and not vote by the seat of your pants legislation. So say I. What say you?
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4-14-2009 @ 8:47PM
rick said...
I agree with you.
4-14-2009 @ 5:16PM
mitch said...
This is not about political party.. as you may like to believe. This is also not about losing the election (many democrats and independents will be joining). This is about the spending of tax dollars WITHOUT ANY debate, without posting the bills prior to signing (as promised), and about political pork being thrown on top of so called stimulus. These bills were passed without A SINGLE LEGISLATOR reading them; that is a fact. If that is what this administration stands for, then they will need to respond to the 1,000,000 plus people who show up tomorrow. They have spent money that our children will be paying interest on without any oversight. If you think that is appropriate, then I feel sorry for you, and your grandchildren.
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