My message to Kristi Noem, 7-11-11:

If the debt ceiling is not raised by August 2nd, many economists are predicting that the dollar will plummet and interest rates will climb. This would have devastating effects on the economy at large as well as on personal finances for many people. I don't know about you, but my finances are just beginning to stabilize after the hit the economy took under the Bush administration. Please don't make them take another hit - and an unnecessary one at that. Please do the work of the American people - don't hold the debt ceiling hostage to unreasonable demands. Please go along with raising taxes on the wealthy; their taxes are already lower than they've been in decades. If higher tax rates didn't halt job growth under Reagan, they won't now either so that argument doesn't hold water. And the Ryan proposal is absurd - do you really want to be known as someone who threw Granny under the bus in order to defend tax breaks for corporate jets? A vast majority of the American people want to protect Medicare and Social Security. Please take that into account as you cast your votes.

Another phrase I hear batted around a lot is "wealth redistribution." When spoken by the GOP, it generally refers to taxing people and then using those dollars to fund programs like Medicare and Social Security. Please remember that people have paid into these programs throughout their working lives, so referring to them as "entitlement" programs is insulting and ignores those contributions. Not to mention that Social Security wouldn't be having financial problems if irresponsible legislators hadn't dipped into SS funds, leaving meaningless IOU's behind.

The truth about wealth redistribution is that the money has been flowing from the lower and middle classes to the upper class for years. I refer you to:

http://www.squattable.com/blog/birdflip/030911/real-redistribution-wealth-forbes-400-triple-wealth-5-years

So please don't try to con people into believing that higher taxes for the rich would be a bad thing. I don't believe that, and neither do most people. I refer you to:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/03/us-usa-taxes-poll-idUSTRE7022AK20110103

The salient point: "...Sixty-one percent of Americans polled would rather see taxes for the wealthy increased as a first step to tackling the deficit, the poll showed...."

The GOP is out of touch with the American people. Wouldn't you like to be a voice of reason for the party instead of being just another "my way or the highway" obstructionist?

Please get the debt ceiling deal done by compromising on raising taxes. It's the right thing to do.