What Congress fails to do is sometimes as revealing as what it does.
Recently, the Senate blocked a Republican proposal to forbid the federal government to bail out states or cities that have spent themselves into a financial crisis. Exceptions would have been made for disasters or similar emergencies.
The fact that the Democrat-run Senate defeated such a measure is informative. Why, after all, would it refuse to block bailouts of mismanaged states and cities — unless it has plans to rescue those states and cities?
That “mystery” probably can be solved by looking at some of the big-spending states in greatest need of a bailout: debt-ridden California and New York, both of which are Democrat strongholds.
Though it has been painful at times, some states, including Tennessee, have behaved fiscally responsibly. We have “done without” some things we might like in order to avoid the deficits that have had ruinous effects on a number of states. Why should taxpayers in Tennessee and other responsible states now have to foot the bill to rescue states that spent recklessly for so many years?
It’s disturbing that Congress refuses to say “no” to those bailouts.