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“THE SUMMER OF PETER”
by: peter roose, esq.
The single goal I gave myself this summer—before
I knew what I would find to occupy my time—was simply
this: Do something that will enable you to write an amusing
article that will be posted on the Internet for all to
see. If you’re reading this, then at least the last
part came true; the rest is up to.
The world of public policy has always presented itself
to me as a twisted and perverse network of pseudo-democratic
ideals in which a few obsessed groups do all they can to
get their kind of legislation passed against the ubiquitous
tide of Corporate Power. After interning this summer at
CBPP—that’s the Center on Budget and Policy
Priorities, not Cheap Bureaucrats Prevent Progress—I
have learned that some things are not always as they seem,
but in this case they usually are. I’ll be the first
to admit that my various obligations, such as covering
hearings and press conferences and monitoring relevant
legislation, were only able to provide a superficial look
at the policy process in Washington. In addition, my short
stay of 10 weeks also precludes me from reaching sound,
reasoned conclusions regarding our “elected representatives.” Nevertheless,
I will attempt to make a few ground-breaking observations
about my experiences this summer that were thankfully made
possible through the generosity of the Everett Internship
Program—thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Everett. Without
you I would not have had the chance to fulfill my summer
goal.
#1 – Politicians can be insanely funny as a result
of obscure references and bizarre analogies that they make
when arguing about the course of a specific policy proposal.
To elucidate this point, I’d like to illicit the
help of my distinguished friend from Florida, Representative
Diaz-Balart (R-FL). In the midst of a typically partisan
exchange regarding who is to blame for the current gargantuan
budget deficits, Mr. Diaz-Balart made the following point
in an attempt to end the debate between spending versus
tax cuts. In essence, he was saying that a budget deficit
won’t go away unless spending is cut, especially
excessive spending, but I think he made the point strikingly
clear when he said, “You can't lose weight and continue
to eat. You can't lose weight and continue to eat pancakes
and lard." Quite a profound statement coming from
a Freshman Representative, and the audience gasped and
guffawed in amazement at his insight. Clearly he was not
impressed by the research of CBPP showing that the tax
cuts have drastically cut revenues, while spending is not
exceptionally high. And isn’t lard on pancakes just
plain sickening whether you’re trying to lose weight
or not?
#2 – Working to change public policy in a progressive
direction is a hard process. The only thing that comes
close, is trying to convince a bouncer in Adams Morgan
to make an exception and let your friend into a bar even
though she just turned 20 because you really want to go
in, but leaving her on the street just really isn’t
a viable option. After all, we are living in a society
here, and that under-age person is your friend. Sometimes
making positive policy changes feels like trying to get
a Cyclops to stop looking only in one direction because
there are millions of people suffering at the hands of
a government that is not working in their interests. From
day one I knew this work was going to be challenging and
that provided part of the enticement for me. It was me
against the world, and I was going to win. Now that I think
about it, there is actually a bunch of us, and it takes
extreme dedication at every turn to keep things from getting
worse. But there is a chance that we can turn things around.
It is that glimpse of hope that keeps me from rolling out
of bed in the morning and falling back to sleep on the
floor.
#3 – There are a lot of good people doing some good
things out here in Washington, but nobody seems to be listening.
After hearing all of the awesome work other non-profits
are doing week after week, I don’t know whether to
become more or less cynical. I was especially impressed
by Danielle Bryan (Executive Director of the Project on
Government Oversight) and Chuck Lewis (Executive Director
of the Center for Public Integrity). Not only did they
have some amazing battle-stories to share and a list of
great successes, but they were also engaging and offered
great perspectives on the future of the government. Clearly,
good old-fashioned progressive politics within a vibrant
civil society are still alive and kicking, albeit no longer
receiving health care, public housing assistance, or clean
water. I want to know what is going through the minds of
all of those political and bureaucratic big-wigs when they
are making decisions. Are they completely off their respective
rockers, (only figuratively of course)? Here’s one
scenario that continually stirs up unrelenting frustration
within me. The IRS, encouraged by the elephant in the living
room (literally, this time), is pushing a pre-auditing
process on working people at the lowest income brackets
in the hopes of recovering a few billion dollars lost in
alleged fraud, which will simultaneously prevent millions
of legitimate filers from receiving their Earned Income
Tax Credit (the single biggest poverty-alleviating program
in the country). All this is being done in an environment
where the IRS says they annually identify $30 billion (out
of the $250 billion) of unpaid taxes that could be recovered
if they have more resources to go after these tax evaders.
Now I would think it would be a lot better to go after
tax evasion where the most money can be recovered. But
then I guess I would be assuming the goal is to increase
owed revenue, not make life harder on the poor and already
disadvantaged.
#4 – The people at the Center on Budget (the short
title for people in the know) are some of the friendliest
people I have ever met in a fast-paced work environment.
They have always been tolerant of my absurd antics and
dull humor, even as deadlines are approaching and projects
are piling up. The production level at CBPP is also unmatched.
In short, I do not have an ill word for my time interning
at the Center. I also hope this is an appropriate time
to give a shout-out to all the other interns there. (In
alphabetical order) Kasey Alderete, Sarah Barclay, Elizabeth
Diaz, Denis Kadochnikov, Jennifer Lebovich, Emily Sama
Martin, Rose Ribeiro, Jennifer Schiess, Christina Thorsen,
Nina Wu—you are all beautiful and colorful people.
The same goes for Joseph Llobrera, Matthew Broaddus, Michael
Bryant, and Andrew Lee. I couldn’t have asked for
a better group to laugh at me every day and some nights.
Thanks for a great summer and I hope I’ve given you
all a new, jaded perspective to share with others when
they ask you, “Who’s the most bizarre person
you’ve ever met?” You were all there when I
was pathetically depressed, and it was because of all y’all
that I turned it around.
#5 – The final observation I want to end on is that
progressives are fun people. Not all of them, of course,
but enough of them so that it’s easy to have a good
time when they’re around. They’re funny, insightful,
and generally have a solid knowledge base from which to
launch into detailed arguments. Plainly said, I am in incredible
company, and I am constantly flailing about, simply to
keep from drowning. But that’s the other good thing
about progressives; if you work your hardest, they won’t
let you go down unnoticed.
So this summer has been much more than I ever could have
expected it to be. I experienced first-hand a number of
important things: 1) how the policy process functions (for
better or worse); 2) how a first-class research and policy
institute single-handedly shapes policy for the better
and holds the government accountable; 3) how to make friends
with people slowly without scaring them away at first and
gradually becoming myself as they warm up to me; 4) how
other non-profits in the DC area work and operate; and
5) how my future career in the public sector will only
do what I tell it to do—which can be a lot or very
little. If this is the real-world that everyone has been
telling me about, then I think I’ll be okay. I may
even be able to grow and love it just the same. But I must
quickly get back into the stack of papers to the left of
me because if I don’t do this work, the real-world
may not want me. And I’m just having too much fun
to stop no
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