Three Steps That Will Help Resolve the Debt Stalemate

I had the good fortune today to be away from all sorts of news media today, and judging by my quick read of my Facebook friends' status updates this evening, that was a good thing.

After catching up quickly on the news --- in particular reading that the debt debate continues in Washington and that President Obama spoke to the nation about it this evening --- I realized that there are three things that we can all do to help solve this debt stalemate.

First, regardless of your opinions of the President, he was correct this evening when he advised us all, "if you want a balanced approach to reducing the deficit, let your member of Congress know." He's right --- we all should let our elected officials in Congress know tomorrow morning how we feel. Send them email, call their offices, fax them, use whatever form of communication you want. You can find out how to contact your House representative through http://www.house.gov, and your Senator using http://www.senate.gov. Make it a priority tomorrow morning (or even tonight!) to let them know how you feel.

Second, swear off inflammatory news media until our Washington representatives have reached a compromise. No more talking heads, no more inflammatory rhetoric, no more angry words --- just don't watch it. Much of the problem with the current stalemate is that the politicians are playing for the media, they all know that we are coming into an election year, and they are all trying to position themselves and their parties for the upcoming election through the media. So just avoid it, all these talking heads are doing is stirring the pot.

Third, it's summer. Take a deep breath, and just put this all in perspective. The stalemate has its origin in politics, and as the President noted it is also caused by our divided government. Tell your elected representatives how you want this solved, and keep in mind that you'll have a chance in November 2012 to let them know how you feel about their performance. Keep the angry words and inflammatory rhetoric in check, and use the ballot box when you next have the chance to vote on their performance.