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Congressman urges long-term solutions

By John Larson

Tacoma Weekly
jlarson@tacomaweekly.com
Published on: August 14, 2008

The economic challenges facing America are long-term, not short-term, and require policies that take this into account. That was the key theme delivered by U.S. Representative Adam Smith (D-Tacoma) when he addressed Tacoma City Council during its Aug. 12 study session.

“We need more long-term planning,” Smith told council members, on energy policy, fiscal policy, health care and other important issues.

Smith feels too many short-term solutions are emerging from Washington, D.C. These include the proposed gas tax holiday, which would have eliminated the federal tax on gasoline over this summer, as well as small tax rebates.

The current federal tax code is too complicated, he told the council. He opposes making tax cuts enacted by President George W. Bush permanent. At present, they are set to expire on Jan. 1, 2011. The next Congress is going to have to address this issue, Smith said.

Smith indicated not much of significance is likely to be done in Congress between now and when the next president takes office. He told the council that anything a Republican president can get through a Democratic Congress has been accomplished, and likewise any items on the Democratic agenda that can be achieved while a Republican is in the White House has been done.

The ever-increasing deficit is affecting the value of the dollar. The weakening of the dollar is partly to blame for rising gasoline prices, Smith said.

More drilling for domestic oil is not the answer, according to Smith. The United States accounts for about 2 percent of oil production in the world, he noted. Americans need to utilize our advances in technology and research to guide energy policy in the future. “We have the technology to get off foreign oil,” he said emphatically. He acknowledged some people do not share his view; he described them as “those who have an economic interest in keeping us in the past.”

Entitlement programs such as Medicare and Social Security will have a devastating impact on the United States economy if they continue in their present form, according to Smith. “They are going to bury us if we do not make changes in those programs.”

He discussed efforts by Congress to provide funding for homeowners facing foreclosures. “We continue to monitor the housing crisis,” Smith remarked. The current problems in the housing sector will likely continue for quite some time, he added.

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