All right, in the editorial above, we discussed our problem of excess spending, excess taxing and excess debt. But even when Congress has sought to address those issues, it still really hasn’t faced its responsibility.
You may recall that Congress recently approved a measure to reduce budget deficits. But despite that highly touted measure, lawmakers were still dodging their financial responsibility.
While Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner, R-Ohio, estimated the action would cut the deficit $315 billion over a decade, the Congressional Budget Office now calculates that the reduction will be much less – only about $122 billion. And under a “compromise” with the president, the CBO estimates that the net result may actually be a $3.2 billion increase in the deficit. And Democrats in Congress complained that even that supposed “cut” was too severe!
Unfortunately, few people in government, and few of us taxpayers, want to face unpleasant financial facts. We really don’t want to cut spending on the programs we favor. We just want somebody else to foot the bill.
Many politicians run on “what they will do for us,” instead of pointing out our financial responsibilities. And many of us tend to encourage them, instead of demanding that they manage our nation’s finances properly.