US Politics

Adam Vogel photo.

Our nation is facing a fiscal crisis that is only getting worse.  The over $14 trillion national debt has increased by more than 25% in just the last two years/.  The Congressional Budget Office says it is already nearly two-thirds the size of our national economy…  Year after year, decade after decade, Congress proves that it will not solve this crisis on its own.”

So says a joint letter to Congress by Senators Hatch (R-UT) and Cornyn (R-TX).  And the proposed amendment they attacked proves their point: “Congress… will not solve this crisis on its own.”

NationalJournalDailycom summarizes:

Under the proposal, expected to be unveiled the week of January 25, total spending cannot exceed total receipts; total spending for any fiscal year cannot exceed 20 percent of the gross domestic product of the previous calendar year; and a two-thirds vote would be needed in both chambers to pass legislation that increases taxes. A two-thirds vote would also be required to waive any of the other limits, although the limits may be waived if war is declared or an imminent threat is declared by a joint resolution of Congress.

The president must also submit a balanced budget under the bill.

In other words, no new income, and spending must be cut to meet current revenue.  Which sounds great – if you’re not a big fan of reality.

Here’s the problem: At present, revenue doesn’t even cover the four biggest items in the federal budget: Social Security, Defense, Medicare, and interest on the debt.  Everything else, from school lunches to highway maintenance to foreign aid to disaster relief (remember Katrina?) to farm subsidies to Congressional salaries, is spent on credit.  The federal government in 2009 spent an astounding $1.4 trillion (67%) more than it took in.

Blocking new revenue means that spending must be slashed by 40%.  That’s the equivalent of abolishing all national defense and slashing Social Security to zero, while leaving taxes (including social security taxes) at their present levels.  It’s absurd.  And it’s impossible, at least for all but the most ardent promoters of small government.

Bob at Polizeros has written extensively about California’s budget problems.  They need a supermajority to raise revenues, much like this amendment requires.  The result has been disastrous legislative gridlock – the Legislature has been unable to pass a budget, and the world’s eighth largest economy is on the verge of bankruptcy.

The Hatch-Cornyn Amendment is nothing but a political stunt.  If it did pass, it would reduce our Federal government to the same gridlock California now has.

The Senators’ letter quotes the Chairman of the joint Chiefs of Staff calling our national debt “the most significant threat to our national security.”  I don’t disagree.  But this Amendment would take a bad problem and make it worse.