The Advocate interviews Congressman Jim McDermott:

“We need to fix our tax system, which heavily favors the rich…”

By Mike Andrew

When the debt ceiling bill passed Congress in August, half the Democrats in the House of Representatives voted No. One of them was Seattle’s Congressman Jim McDermott.

McDermott talked with The Retiree Advocate to explain why.

Unlike Tea Party Republicans, who actually wanted the US government to default on its debts, McDermott agreed with raising the debt ceiling, but had serious reservations about cost-cutting provisions added to the bill at the last minute to attract enough Republican votes to pass it.

“I voted No in protest of the deficit-reduction provisions,” McDermott said. “We never held a single Congressional hearing on the programs that were being cut in the bill, and I thought it was irresponsible that the Republicans waited until the eleventh hour to work out a deal.”

One of the key provisions of the bill is the creation of a so-called “super-commission” of six Republicans and six Democrats who are charged with working out a long-term deficit-reduction plan.

McDermott says he is skeptical about the commission’s ability to come to agreement on a deficit-reduction package that will be fair and balanced.

“At this point, I am not optimistic given who the Republicans appointed,” McDermott told The Advocate.

Asked if he foresaw cuts to Medicare and Social Security, McDermott replied that he couldn’t rule that out.

“Based on what Republicans have said and proposed thus far, I think the prospects are high for Medicare cuts and changes to Social Security,” he said.

“At this point, I can’t say what exactly what changes will be made to Social Security or Medicare, but one thing that is troubling is the fact that the Republicans appointed to the super committee – the entity empowered to make these decisions – have all signed the pledge to not raise taxes. If taxes are completely off the table, we’re going to have to find alternative revenue sources or make drastic changes to our entitlement programs.”

One change that McDermott completely rejects is the Medicare voucher system proposed by Tea Party darling Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI).

“Seniors, like all Americans, deserve health security, and the idea of sending a senior out into the marketplace to shop around for health insurance is just something that is inconceivable,” McDermott insists.

“Medicare is an important program, greatly valued among seniors, and there is no reason to replace it with a voucher system when we could just make changes to the program so that it can continue to provide benefits for decades to come.”

Asked how to solve the country’s long-term deficit problem if cuts to Medicare and Social Security are off the table, McDermott immediately brought up the idea of a fairer tax system.

“We can’t reduce the federal debt by simply cutting,” he said. “It isn’t possible and it isn’t fair.

“I think we need to fix our tax system, which heavily favors the rich, as things stand. In doing so, we need to ensure that the millionaires and billionaires, as well as America’s corporations, are paying their fair share when it comes to taxes.”