Most Republican members of Congress have, at one time or another, signed the “Taxpayer Protection Pledge”, a litmus test authored by a Tea Party conservative political blowhard named Grover Norquist.
Basically, the Norquist Pledge opposes all tax increases. Prior to 2012, 95 percent of all GOP Congressmen had signed the pledge, including the present Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan.
(Congressman Ryan rose to fame by being the most hawkish of Republicans, absolutely and completely opposed to budget deficits. In 2011, House Republicans, led by Paul Ryan, issued a report full of dire warnings about the dangers of budget deficits. “The United States is facing a crushing burden of debt,” it declared, warning of a looming fiscal crisis that might soon “capsize” the economy.)
Ryan did such a good job in mobilizing opposition to Democratic budget proposals that the Chief Fiscal Hawk/Big Government Hater was later rewarded with the job of Speaker of the House.
As any high school Civics student knows, taxes fund governments. These students have also learned that the cost of living is constantly increasing. Thus, as the cost of government increases, revenues must keep pace or the system will atrophy.
Some people, like Grover Norquist, Paul Ryan, and Donald Trump, want the government to shrink. At least, they do when it comes to the security net for the elderly and the poor, regulation of industry, and environmental protection. So, the idea is that by keeping taxes stagnant, those superfluous (in their mind) government services will be starved to death. It’s a Win-Win proposition for the rich and Big Business.
It’s not so good if you have the misfortune to be elderly or poor.
Fiscal responsibility, as defined by the Norquist/Ryan/Tea Party true-believers, has always meant opposing tax increases, supporting balanced budgets (i.e. current year costs balanced by current year income), and holding firm that any proposed new program or increased allocation to an existing one must be matched by reduction in other existing programs.
The Gospel According to Paul (Ryan) used to be that budget deficits were to be strictly avoided; anyone who proposed such a thing was considered a Liberal, a Communist, or worse, a “tax and spend” Democrat.
This is consistent with the basic Republican mantra made popular by Ronald Reagan. Grover Norquist’s no tax pledge was a gimmicky way to hold the GOP members feet to the fire. Republican candidates throughout the land proudly wore the “approved by Grover Norquist” badge. Any GOP aspirants who wouldn’t sign up wouldn’t get elected.
Remember George H.W. Bush’s famous “Read my lips!” pledge not to raise taxes if elected President.
He was elected, raised taxes, and was defeated for re-election.
The GOP Fiscal Hawk/Anti-Big Government ploy worked pretty good as an obstructionist tactic when the Democrats controlled the White House or when Republicans controlled either the Senate or the House of Representatives. In other words, when the GOP wasn’t totally in charge of running the government. So, they could “talk the talk”, but didn’t have to “walk the walk”.
A funny thing happened in 2016: the GOP won the White House, the Senate, and the House of Representatives. Now, the fiscally responsible, deficit-hating Republicans are IN CHARGE, or, more importantly, RESPONSIBLE, for everything.
Now, America gets to see what they really believe.
Lo and behold, it has become increasingly obvious, with each passing month, that the Republican Party wants to spend money…a lot of it.
They are, of course, going to reduce spending in those areas that they traditionally despise (Social Security and Medicare programs for our elderly, health and welfare services to the poor, industry regulation, and environmental protection). However, they are off-setting those reductions with very large increases in pet programs (like the military) and are proposing expensive new programs (like border walls, infrastructure improvements, etc.). So, Federal government costs are going up…way up.
Yes, my friends…the guys who supposedly hate Big Government are making it…BIGGER. Go figure.
So, what is the Trump/Ryan plan to pay for this extravagant spending?
First, they’ve changed the tax code to REDUCE revenue, by giving small tax reductions to the middle class and large reductions to the super-wealthy.
Yes, students, they propose to lower tax revenue and spend a lot more!
“But, Teacher…that doesn’t make any sense! How can they spend tax revenue that they don’t collect?” Good question, Class.
Back to Mr. Norquist…
Since our Tea Party patriots have sworn a sacred oath not to raise taxes (they’re keeping that promise!), they propose to BORROW SEVEN TRILLION DOLLARS over the next ten years to pay for the generous tax cuts to their super-wealthy friends and the massive increase to the military budget, the infrastructure plan, the border wall, etc.
Trump’s GOP is spending like drunken sailors in port.
They’ve become big-time “borrow and spend” Republicans: spend now, pay later.
How is this fiscally responsible in any way? In personal finance, or in a business, borrowing money of this magnitude would be considered reckless, foolhardy, and a sure-fire way to end up in bankruptcy.
Not coincidentally…we have a President leading the country right now who has, in the past, bragged about being the “King of Credit”. He loves using other people’s money to finance his risky endeavors. Not surprisingly, Donald Trump has had to declare bankruptcy four times on foolhardy projects that didn’t pan out.
Evidently, President Trump has convinced the Republican Party “fiscal hawks” to borrow trillions of dollars to finance his fuzzy vision for the country. “Let’s roll the dice with other people’s money!”
But, wait…the U.S. government can’t declare bankruptcy.
What happens when the overwhelming portion of the federal budget is needed to pay debt obligations? What will happen if the economy goes into the tank again, and our borrowing capacity is exhausted…so the Feds will be unable to assist in any way? What about natural disasters…where will the government get the money to help out?
At some point, our government will have so much debt obligation that it: (1) will need most of its tax income to pay debt interest; and, (2) will not be able to borrow from anyone at a decent interest rate. We will be up a river without a paddle.
“But, Teacher, why are we borrowing so much money when the economy is doing well, unemployment is rock bottom, etc.? Shouldn’t we reserve our credit for times when the economy needs a shot in the arm?” Good question, Class.
No one, even Trump’s rock-solid political base, voted for this reckless behavior. Those voters’ children, and their grandchildren, will pay for this foolhardy spending spree, as will everyone else’s progeny.
“Smile, Kids…we’ve just saddled you with $7 trillion in debt. Thanks for the lobster dinners!”
The fiscally-conservative, anti-Big Government GOP, though, will be able to hold their head high, because, technically, no new taxes (on current voters) will have funded this orgy of excess.
Grover Norquist would be proud.
“This is lame, Teacher. Why should we have to pay for this?”