His State of the Union address, President Biden claimed he would, be “the only president to ever cut the deficit by more than $1 trillion in a single year.” While this is technically true, he ignores the fact that the reduction in the deficit will be due to the decreased expenditures associated with COVID-19 relief.
The debt is expected to continue rising because both sides refuse to limit spending. Last week, the House passed an a Bill to spend $1.5 trillion that is more than 2,000 pages long. Most people don’t have the time or desire to read every page. What are they supposed to do? They aren’t spending their money.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi engaged in Orwellian “Newspeak” when she mentioned government spending in a recent press conference: “…it’s important to dispel some of those who say, well it’s the government spending. No, it isn’t. In fact, the government is spending the reverse of what it should be doing to reduce the national debt. It is not inflationary.”
Yes. War is also peace.
Take note earmarksThe little and huge add-ons to spending bill that Republicans had once prohibited and pledged voters would not return. They’re back, with some Republicans inserting them into the spending bill. According to reports, Earmarks take up 367 pages in the bill.
This spending monster includes social programs that are not measured in terms of their effectiveness or failure. It is possible to get more defense spending. Wall Street Journal editorial noted, “Republicans had to concede to more domestic spending on top of the $3.4 trillion spent in the last year.”
Americans are now more philosophical than ever, and this is why irresponsible spending persists. Where once people were expected to be responsible for themselves and turn to government as a last resort, now mostly – but not exclusively – liberal politicians have succeeded in convincing too many Americans they are “entitled” to “benefits” and that “the rich” aren’t paying their “fair share” in taxes.
In fact, through five months in fiscal 2022, federal taxes have reached a new record of $1.86 billion. The problem isn’t revenue. We have benefited from spending that is $30 Trillion (and counting) debt is the problem.
We can’t say we haven’t been warned about what uncontrolled debt can do to nations. There have been many warnings made about the dangers of government debt.
Peter Wehner (and Ian Tufts) write about this in the winter edition National Affairs about recent presidents who expressed concern about our growing debt: “In issuing their warnings, these presidents echoed mainstream economists, budget directors, chairmen of the Federal Reserve, and influential figures in the world of finance — both Democratic and Republican — who sounded the alarm about the potential consequences of a dramatic fiscal imbalance. Experts warned of troubling consequences, including a prolonged recession, higher interest rates and increasing inflation. They also warned of a plummeting stock market and a massive sell-off in foreign-government Treasuries. This could result in a financial collapse and other economic and social disasters. These would all grow more likely, they cautioned, if the federal government failed to get its fiscal house in order.”
As with so many other aspects of the Constitution the left and the right have failed to take into account history and wise advice in economic matters. If we don’t get our economy in order, then we are bound to repeat this history. This will be achieved by more Americans making a commitment to take care of themselves and less on the government. It will also require people being elected who will listen to the advice and warnings given above.
Given our human nature, it is not likely that such wisdom and experience will be taken into consideration. A lot of people would prefer to get a paycheck than work for one.
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