Congress, in conjunction with the President of the United States, is currently attempting to find common ground regarding the nature of the federal budget. The fiscal future of our country hangs in the midst. The focal point: whether raising taxes or cutting spending should be the fundamental means to reduce our deficits and lead us into another era of American prosperity. Republicans want serious and responsible cuts without raising unnecessary taxes. Democrats insist raising taxes with minimal cuts is of intelligent design. The national discussion on the budget is in and of itself, I believe, a vivid representation of the divisive philosophy and nature of the American people.

There is a deep division in society today between those who want to work and enjoy the fruits of their labor and those for whom it has become fashionable to call the disaffected, the disadvantaged, the differently motivated; what we used to call lazy people, dishonest people, people who don’t want to take responsibility for their actions or their lives. As a result, those in charge of solving our budget problems have to take on difficult and at times drastic measures with the sole purpose to safeguard not only our immediate fiscal and economic health, but also the succeeding generations’ prosperity. Not to do so would be irresponsible and a threat to the liberty of future Americans.

Entitlements are the core of this issue, yet they are the topic with the least amount of national coverage. The Republicans’ Cut, Cap and Balance proposal of cutting the deficit in half for fiscal year 2012 in conjunction with guaranteeing future levels of spending are capped at sustainable percentages of our GNP is a responsible approach. That, alongside a balanced budget amendment, demonstrates the GOP’s commitment to the pledge they made to the electorate, which will ensure our nation never experiences the current debacle we now face regarding our fiscal follies again.

The budget proposal the Obama Administration has submitted completely disregards the heart of the issue and enables our spending to skyrocket further out of control. Roughly 58 percent of the entire budget proposal is centered on entitlement programs and spending, a clear indication of petty politics and a fundamental lack of serious initiative from the Democratic leadership to buckle down and make tough choices. The administration and its supporters attempt to portray the current debate to the American public as “stalled” by Republican “stubbornness.” It is further distorted by claiming the rich “don’t pay their fair share” and that the Bush tax cuts “are the cause of our problem,” yet both of these concepts are a direct attack on the integrity of this debate. As of 2008, the top one percent of the highest income earners paid 38 percent of the total income tax, while the bottom 50 percent of taxpayers paid only three percent. Entitlement spending will consume all tax revenue by 2049. Therefore, if we faithfully follow the logic of the Democrats’ proposal, we would have to continue to raise taxes at an unsustainable level in order to cover the costs of everything.

It is clearly a time to choose whether to seek to continue an unsustainable federal spending scheme or to put aside petty politics and make the difficult but necessary choices that will allow America to consolidate into a new era of stable economic prosperity. Entitlement spending needs to be properly addressed, adequately reformed and responsibly consolidated. Taxes should not be raised, especially at the level Obama and the recently minted “Gang of Six” asks for: $1.2-1.5 trillion in new taxes. This is nothing other than wealth extracted from the private sector, and thus threatening the very structural integrity of our economy’s life source. One thing is certain, the American public has spoken to the Obama Administration by electing the current 112th House of Representatives. To ignore this fact would not just be a potential cost to partisan political clout, but the overall integrity and fiscal future of the United States of America.

Andrew Melillo is the external vice president of the Northeastern University College Republicans.