REFER TO GREY: Contemplations by Robert Greigos © 2007-2024

The new speaker of the US House of Representatives, Paul Ryan, said this week, “Let’s reform taxes. Let’s get rid of poverty. Let’s bring the national debt down.” Such admirable goals from the chosen leader of a party who, for the last six years, has been nothing but obstructionist in its objectives.

The institutions of democratic government were established for a reason: to deliberate, codify, and carry out the will of the people. Not the will of a few loud, intractable, or self-interested people, but the will of a majority of the people. And not just the will of a majority of registered voters, but of all our citizens. A democratic government that fails to get the business of the people done is a failed government. And the authors of most of the failures of governance dating back to Reagan have been Republican, from Reagan’s ballooning of our national debt to repeal of banking regulations that separated investment banks from savings banks and nearly brought our financial system down to budget and tax cuts that have seriously weakened infrastructure, education, and social services to two wars funded entirely by debt. Right now we need a Congress that takes the business of governance for the people seriously and gets it done right. Celebration celebration if Paul Ryan is the leader, Democrat or Republican, who can accomplish that task.