To the Editor:

The deficit reduction supercommittee failed for two reasons.

A deficit results when expenditures exceed revenues. The Republicans adamantly refused to eliminate the temporary Bush tax cuts on the wealthy (increasing revenue) and would only support expenditure cuts. The other reason was they were afraid of not being re-elected if they were to compromise with the Democrats.

More 90 percent of the Republican congressmen signed a written pledge to Grover Norquist, president of the group Americans for Tax Reform, promising to never increase taxes while they were in office. Norquist is probably one of the most powerful and influential lobbyists in Washington. He is financially backed by some of the wealthiest individuals and corporations in America, including Koch Industries, AOL Time Warner, Microsoft, Pfitzer, UPS, and major tobacco companies, to name just a few.

In a recent interview on MSNBC with Sen. Alan Simpson, Simpson stated the only thing Norquist could do to a Republican who supported a tax increase was to prevent him or her from being re-elected.

The wealthiest people in America now have the lowest tax rate in over 30 years. The deficit can only be resolved by both decreasing expenditures and increasing revenues, according to leading economists.

We need term limits on congressmen. Elections next year will prove to be most interesting. Your vote counts.

Ron Rokstool

Maggie Valley