Federal Spending Out of Control
August 29th, 2006 | by Paul Merda |We cannot allow political expediency to destroy our long term economic might. Everyone instinctively knows that our Nation can not continue to spend and cut taxes at the rate we are doing it now. Neither side wants to give up on its untested economic theories, the GOP wants to continue tax cuts while the Dems don’t want to see cuts in “entitlement” programs. The only real answer in this fiercely partisan environment is to form a commission, as bipartisan as can possibly be, to examine how best to get revenues at the same level as spending.
In the end, of course, elected representatives, not a commission, will have to make the hard decisions. But a commission that produced solutions with meaningful bipartisan support would provide a catalyst for action. If Congress were required to vote on the commission’s recommendations, opponents would be challenged to produce solutions of their own.
It will, at least should, be painful for both sides as the GOP is forced to raise taxes and the Dems have to let go of some their favorite social programs. Everything needs to be on the table whether its military spending or research grants; everything should at minimum face cuts in growth. We MUST act soon or Beijing’s clutch will suffocate us all…
