Fiscal Madness in Washington
Sadly, an Unholy Alliance of Congress and the President, Democrats and Republicans included, has decided that borrowing and spending money we do not have is good for politics, while somehow we can ignore the fiscal imbalances —sky high annual federal budget deficits and a ballooning national debt—stemming from crazy spending policies almost casually approved here in Washington.
Somehow the Federal Government believes that it can ignore, as a matter of course, the basic, common sense rules that every household or business has to be mindful of: You simply cannot borrow and spend more money in perpetuity, especially when you are borrowing mostly to finance an unsustainable life style.
Borrowing to invest is something else. Whether you eventually succeed or not, at least you plan to make money with the capital equipment or other assets you purchased via commercial loans or other means of financing.
But here we are talking about Uncle Sam having lost its mind. For a recent illustration of this madness, please read the press release below issued by The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, (July 24, 2018).
Further Debt-Financed Tax Cuts Beyond Irresponsible
“Today, July 24, the House is scheduled to vote on the first of several of health-related tax cuts, which could total over $100 billion. Also today, Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) released a listening session framework of “Tax Reform 2.0” to House Republicans, which would extend expiring provisions from the recent tax cut bill and create new tax breaks at a cost of hundreds of billions of dollars. The following is a statement from Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget:
It’s amazing to think that Washington’s record debt binge by Congress still isn’t over. Thanks to massive tax cuts and spending hikes passed over the last year, we’ll be approaching permanent trillion-dollar deficits as soon as next year.
This country is drowning in red ink. It is beyond irresponsible to add even a dollar more to the debt, and anyone who cares about fiscal responsibility should dismiss further tax cuts outright.
Tax reform 2.0 should focus on improving the initial bill by cutting more tax breaks and closing new loopholes to produce sustained economic growth. It shouldn’t be about continuing reckless borrowing into the 2030s when we can least afford it. And we certainly shouldn’t pile on new tax cuts that would only expand our near-term economic sugar high.
The further we go down this road, the more catastrophic the inevitable U-turn will be. The irresponsibility is just baffling.”
—Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, July 24, 2018