Oseriös politisk retorik

Man behöver inte som jag vara på plats i Visby för att notera att när ett val närmar sig så blir den poliiska retoriken allt mindre seriös, allt mer fylld av tom retorik.

En av mina favoritskribenter, Washington Post-kolumnisten Robert Samuelson, skriver idag om den debatt om finansieringen av amerikanska Ex-Im Bank som jag tidigare berört på denna blogg.

Helt oseriösa Tea Party-republikaner hetsar nu mot att skattebetalarna betalar stora belopp till banken. Så här är det:

The central fact about the Ex-Im Bank is that, in the $3.5 trillion federal budget, it is a pygmy. It has about 400 employees. In 2013, its operating budget — its overhead — totaled $90 million, according to a report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS). But these expenses were fully paid by fees and interest from Ex-Im’s private customers. There was no direct drain on taxpayers. Indeed, the bank turned a profit in 2013 and paid $1.1 billion to the Treasury. If it were eliminated, future deficits would probably increase, albeit by small amounts.

Och han avselutar med denna bredsida:

My complaint about today’s debate is that it’s political theater. By exaggerating Ex-Im’s importance, the tea party types pretend they’re making a major assault on government spending when they’re not. This pretense in turn gives them an excuse to avoid harder spending choices. Large programs, starting with Social Security, are popular and untouchable precisely because they’re large. Only when the tea party and others face up to this will they be serious.