President Obama announces the compromise.

A couple days ago the White House and Congressional Republicans reached a compromise on issues that included extending the Bush tax cuts and unemployment benefits.  It took a while.  In the press conference announcing the agreement, President Obama commented that the agreement is not what he wanted, but said that Republicans were holding tax cuts for the Middle Class and an unemployment benefits extension “hostage.”  Many in the Democratic base oppose the compromise, seeing it as capitulation rather than compromise, and are resistant to approval.

Mainstream media has been providing blow by blow coverage of this process.  The tell us which side which wants what but not in a lot of detail and not why.  For the most part they spend their time speculating about the impact that whatever compromise might be reached will have on the 2012 elections.  Then they let party representatives and their surrogates in the punditry argue about what agreements might be better and for the nation and how.

It’s all very entertaining.  There is drama, conflict, suspense.  Who is winning the skirmish as the pundits argue?  Who will win the battle when the legislation ultimately makes it out of Congress?  Most importantly, who’s likely to win the war in 2012!

The thing is, most Americans don’t really care about who the victors are.  All the really care about is how much damage will be done in the process, and what life will be like once the war ends.  We pick sides based on who we think will make life better, not ideology.  Unfortunately, for so many Americans, it’s hard to know which side to choose because they don’t have the time, the inclination or the capacity to do research into public policy, and our media, instead of helping with that as it should, only covers the debate as if it were a boxing match or horse race.    They don’t address issues anymore than the parties themselves do.  Thus I make this plea to the press and media.
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Dear members of the press and media,

Please spend less time analyzing the impact of major legislation on power dynamics in Washington and more on life in the rest of the country.  How about addressing the economic implications of extending tax cuts, and doing so in a way the provides real answers, not just a survey of the partisan talking points?  How about telling us what the impact of cutting off unemployment benefits to millions of Americans will really be?  How about helping us understand who might actually lose them and when it will happen?  How about bringing in policy experts rather than pundits from time to time?  The same people are called on to discuss everything from the war in Afghanistan and the financial crisis in Ireland, as are the impact of tax cuts and immigration reform, or even the latest celebrity news!

Tax cuts for the middle class.  Tax cuts for the wealthy.  Extensions of unemployment benefits.  Social Security payroll tax holiday.  Tax cuts for businesses.  Education tax credits.  Earned income tax credits.  The fact that tax cuts will replace spending at an economic stimulus strategy.  The federal deficit.  All of this has come into the current debate and will probably be impacted in some way by whatever final compromise it reached.  These are things that will affect our lives, the lives of our children and of their children.

That impact is what interests us, not whether or not adoption of them represents a victory for a particular party.  Looking at legislation that way prioritizes partisanship over what is best for our nation and its citizens.  Politics is about power, policy affects our lives.  Votes for committe chairs and procedural matters are politics.  They are not the same as votes on the tax code, food safety or wether to commit troops abroad.

Please remember, fellow citizens in the media, that debates over policy are not just politics and they deserve more analysis!  Thank you.

What Exactly Is In Obama’s Tax Cut/Unemployment Extension Compromise?