The Can Kicks Back kicks back: Stop this partisan hackery

Nothing is getting done in Washington because politicians of both parties are incentivized to wage war rather than solve problems. They interpret information in a way that is consistent with their ideology in order to play to their base and special interests. They use rhetoric to infuriate rather than conciliate in order to raise money and get on television. They question motives and cast aspersions.

The result is a system that perpetuates the status quo on nearly every major national challenge. Young Americans stand to suffer the most. That is why, after years of watching Washington kick the can down the road on our growing national debt and increasing inequality in the federal budget, a group of millennials came together to launch “The Can Kicks Back” campaign.

The goal of the non-partisan campaign is to organize enough young people across the country and political spectrum to force meaningful, long-term action. The campaign visited Georgetown last month for the final stop on a cross-country “Generational Equity Tour” to engage students on the economic threat we face. We talked with dozens of students who were fed up with the budget showdowns and eager for real solutions.

Yet, in an editorial last week, the Voice claimed The Can Kicks Back campaign misrepresented itself to students. It noted a partnership between the campaign and another organization, Fix the Debt, and claimed both are advocating for an “anti-student and anti-poor” agenda and are “publicly petitioning for broad cuts in welfare programs for America’s most vulnerable people, while simultaneously working to evade reasonable regulation and taxation.” The editorial criticized the College Democrats, College Republicans, and the Student Association for coming together to co-sponsor the event—when such collaboration should be commended.

These often repeated attacks are entirely baseless, although that seems not to matter. Is The Can Kicks Back partnered with Fix the Debt? Yes, but our founders’ advocacy work began three years before Fix the Debt even existed. Does The Can Kicks Back receive funding from Fix the Debt? Yes, but a majority of our modest budget comes from dozens of other donors whom are all listed on our website. In fact, the tour in question was organized and funded independently of Fix the Debt. That’s all beside the point, however, because neither organization is even remotely advocating for what the Voice claims.

Austerity is the frequent straw man in the debate over the debt, even though these groups agree it is far from the solution. Indeed, drastic budget cuts and tax increases are precisely what we are trying to avoid by making sensible, modest, and gradual changes now to slow spending by reforming entitlements, raise revenue by closing tax loopholes, and accelerate economic growth by replacing the senseless sequester. We’re not in this to hurt the poor, protect the rich, avoid taxes or destroy social programs. We’re in this to reduce the deficit, revive the economy and restore generational fairness to the federal budget. We’re in this because our shot at the American Dream is slipping away.

Why claim otherwise? Many critics on the left interpret any discussion about the national debt as a concession to their own values and policies. Thus, fabricating an agenda and attacking the messenger becomes a key tactic in avoiding discussion on the merits altogether (many conservatives engage in the same tactics over climate change for the same reasons). These attacks become effective because they are repeated so frequently in the online echo chamber that they begin to stick. The denial and hysteria must stop.

Critics must realize that the current trajectory of our federal budget is a bigger threat to their priorities than the other party. Consider that within the next two decades federal investments will reach their lowest level on record, annual interest on the debt will exceed one trillion dollars, and Social Security will stop paying full benefits. In addition, as health care costs continue to climb and our population continues to age, more resources will simply be transferred from the young to the old. Ultimately, America will be unable to pay for the promises it made in the past or fund critical investments in its future. All we have to do is, well, nothing.

For those who care about spending government resources productively, protecting social insurance programs for the young, and ensuring intergenerational justice, the status quo can simply not be an option. But that requires acknowledging the problem we are going to inherit and opening up cross-partisan and cross-generational discussions about how to solve it. It requires our generation moving beyond the kneejerk partisan warfare in Washington, not mimicking it.

Student leaders of the Voice should lead by example rather than  by defining the problem. Enough with the distractions.