“A country that doesn’t ever balance its budget will go bankrupt. That’s not a threat. It’s math.”
This nugget of wisdom, which is obvious to any 3rd grader with at least a C average in arithmetic yet has been Greek to those in Washington for the last few generations, comes courtesy of Senator Jim DeMint as he explains our fiscal situation in plain english:
Endlessly borrowing more money to spend more money is a ruinous economic strategy, yet that’s exactly what leaders in Washington are proposing.
President Obama wants to raise the debt ceiling for the fourth time since he entered office to allow the government to keep up its big spending spree. Keep in mind, Congress has voted to raise the debt ceiling 10 times in the past 10 years— twice in 2008 and 2009. Both parties bear responsibility. Since 1990, the debt has increased over 450%, from $3 trillion to over $14 trillion today. It’s on course to nearly double in the next 10 years, to $26 trillion.
Washington will never voluntarily shrink its size until it is forced to by law. Republicans should oppose another debt limit increase unless Congress first passes a balanced budget amendment that requires a two-thirds majority to raise taxes.
A balanced budget amendment is sorely needed now because the debt is rising bigger and faster than it ever has, like a wave cresting with more force and power as it approaches land. Without anything to block it, the debt wave will break and overtake everything in its path.
If we do not confront this now, we are choosing to bury our children and grandchildren in debt.
I fear that Senator DeMint is exactly right in that “Washington will never voluntarily shrink its size until it is forced to by law.” Politicians can talk a good game about reducing spending and balancing the budget, but inevitably, they fold in the face of losing votes if they cut somebody’s cherished entitlement. The answer is to outlaw deficit spending with some form of a balanced budget amendment, thus forcing politicians to make the difficult choices they are currently unwilling to make. Clearly the debt ceiling isn’t enough of a deterrent if they are willing to blow past it 10 times in 10 years.
Forcing our government to spend only what in takes in could be the panacea to most of our problems. It would reign in our absurd entitlements, eventually pushing them out to the private sector, and it may help push other poorly managed programs to the private sector as well. It would curtail or stop the introduction of new entitlements because the viability of new measures would have to be thoroughly vetted before higher taxes, or offsetting cuts in the budget, were accepted. This in turn would leave special interests and lobbyists with a little less power because their pet projects would have less of a chance of success. Wars would also be harder to enter because of a similar vetting process. And most importantly, a balanced budget amendment would stop the hidden inflation tax because there would be no debt to monetize.