When did spend and tax become just spend? Somewhere between Social Security and health care reform, Congressional leaders, fearing public backlash, continued to pass legislation in the name of social welfare, failing to account for appropriate funds.
A little debt is OK — even the most responsible among us carry a credit card — but the thought of more American debt just sounds ludicrous. As of Sept. 30, the U.S. is $13.56 trillion in debt. That’s six percent less than what our country produces yearly in goods and services. Not cool. In fact, the Government Accountability Office, an auxiliary of U.S. Congress, estimates that somewhere between 2030 and 2040 mandatory spending will exceed government revenue.
So why are we talking about all this? The Bush Tax cuts. No, we’re not against them. The Daily 49er published an editorial supporting cuts for the middle class earlier this semester. What we are against is fiscal irresponsibility: the mismanagement of funds that will lead to steeper recessions in the future.
According to the Wall Street Journal, there are rumblings in Congress about passing legislation that would both raise our country’s debt ceiling and extend the tax cuts. Apparently, Obama administration officials and congressional Democrats and Republicans feel this may be a viable way to extend the Bush tax cuts.
The issue with this is not so much fiscal as it is philosophical. The tax cuts will be extended — the American middle class cannot afford a tax increase and Republicans will not extend the cuts unless they are extended for the wealthy as a well. Our country’s debt ceiling is raised seemingly every year — so this is nothing new. It’s just the idea of packaging a debt increase with a tax cut that irks us. After all, this package would really capture the spirit of Congress, wouldn’t it?
If Congressional leaders feel the will of the people is to spend, let them spend, but they should tax appropriately. If Congressional leaders feel the will of the people is to cut taxes, let them cut taxes, but they should spend appropriately.
Taxing and spending is a two-way street whether you are a Republican or a Democrat.
Unaware of this two-way relationship, congressmen might ask how else to extend the tax cuts? Cut spending, we would respond, now aware of congressional irresponsibility.
Some may argue for complexity citing anyone from John Keynes to Adam Smith, and they are right; the complexity of economics can’t be argued in a 500-word editorial, but when it comes to prosperity, no one would rightly disagree with fiscal responsibility.
A balanced budget is nowhere near as important to anyone in this country as it is to a college student. Long after Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, this country’s college students will be around facing the consequences of their economic decisions. If anyone should be worried about 2040, it’s us.
Cutting programs or raising taxes is hard, but in the harsh reality of this world one or the other has to be done. Otherwise, the buck is just being passed. And trust us, we say college students are in enough debt.
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