At $13.7 trillion and climbing, our national debt is an outrage. But how will Congress reduce the debt?
Liberals believe tax hikes are the key. Conservatives generally believe that cutting wasteful spending is the answer.
Suppose you think tax increases are the way to go. That means you assume that higher tax rates mean higher revenue for government – though higher taxes destroy economic growth and can actually hurt tax revenue by shrinking the economic base.
But here are some other questions for those who are convinced that we should rely on tax increases to balance the budget and reduce debt: What evidence is there that Congress is likely to use new tax revenue to reduce debt?
Aren’t we in an economic crisis and up to our neck in debt precisely because Congress not only continues to waste money on existing federal programs but insists on finding new programs on which to squander your tax dollars?
In other words, what is there in Congress’ recent history that shows it can be trusted to “do the right thing” if it takes hundreds of billions more tax dollars from the American people?
These are questions that big spenders in Congress have not answered. But they are questions that should be asked nonetheless.