Budget vs National Debt

For 8 years republicans stalled budgets during the Obama White House demanding all expenses be paid for in full to avoid increasing the national debt. For 8 years they demanded taxes be raised to pay for the new expenses, OR they demanded other program expenses be cut in a swap to pay for the new programs. A tit for tax system that stalled progress, and it was a stall tactic that worked very well for them.

Now with a republican controlled federal government – all three branches – there appears to be no problem with increasing costs for favored programs, cutting out unfavored programs and cutting taxes with no consideration for the size of the national debt. The last time this was tried was in the George W Bush administration. Trillions were spent on wars and military preparedness. Taxes were cut. Total growth of the national debt was at least $4 trillion. Note that this growth had nothing to do with domestic spending programs – foreign affairs, defense spending and two wars waged simultaneously along with tax cuts for the wealthy.

In Obama’s administration, the Bush financial debacle had to be repaired or the economic system in America and the global community would have collapsed; nearly did. Simple as that. Yet the politicos on the other side of the aisle made it almost impossible for the work to be done. With a gun to their heads they finally relented and repairs were approved. The economy was saved and rebuilt. The global economy was supported back to health as well with America no longer undercutting it!

Today the republicans are repeating the debacle: cut taxes and spend anyway. Guess they figure they and their pals will enjoy the tax cuts and leave future repairs to the Democrats.  

National Debt a Contrived Crisis

When the republicans are in charge, national debt is not a problem. When Democrats are in charge, republicans barricade every budget plan in the name of debt reduction.

What really needs to be discussed by the American people is the role of the federal government. What programs are necessary and why? Why does the government need to be involved in these matters? And if not, why not?

This is the elephant in the room. It revolves around Big Government or Small Government.

The problem is elected officials do not engage in this discussion, nor do they enlist the voters in the exploration of the scope of government. They save these arguments as ideological hot buttons to rile voters for their ballot wins. Never are these matters intelligently discussed and explored after the election. So no progress on the ideological debate of Big versus Small. Yet that is the controlling issue.

Smalls claim Big is a prescription for socialism, and God only know this is right next to communism! So argument over.

No, it is not. If this logic held sway in the past, the Voter Rights Bill of 1965 would not have passed and African Americans would still be discouraged from voting. Segregation of schools in our southland would still be going on. The War on Poverty would not have been waged. Countless other social programs that built an even playing field for most Americans would not have been enacted.

The argument for Big Government is not socialism. Rather it is social justice and fair play.

The economy can and should be managed to produce the resources to pay the bills of social justice. Instead it is manipulated by ideologues to create false crises that make it appear taxes need cutting to stimulate the economy all the while social programs are denuded of resources. Giving wealthier people lower taxes does not stimulate the economy. Trickle Down Economics does not work. We learned that the hard way.

But cutting social programs only makes the poor poorer and saps the economy in false economies and crisis expenses to solve the resulting growth in problems.

The result: the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. All the while the system is not aided.

A much more balanced approach is reasonable and sensible. So why don’t we the people make this happen? My guess is we don’t understand the issues well enough to hold our elected officials accountable to a reasoned discussion and decision.

That’s on us, folks; not on the politicos.

October 27, 2017