Conservative

Demers: Moving further away from government shutdown, political debate should now preside over debt reduction

The government shutdown and debt ceiling debacles brought about by Republican brinkmanship were politically costly and ultimately resulted in no major concessions from Democrats. From this standpoint, the GOP’s tactics can be considered nothing more than an abject failure.

However, there is another way of looking at what transpired. Through some questionable tactics, Republicans have brought much due attention in Washington to debt reduction.

The debate now should be about taxing, spending and borrowing, and not about defunding the Affordable Care Act. That is a positive thing.

A panel chaired by Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., head of the Senate Budget Committee and Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., chairman of the House Budget Committee, will be assigned to formulate a budget agreement by December.

Last Wednesday’s deal will fund government operations only until Jan. 15 and extend the federal debt limit through Feb. 7.



Much of the U.S. populace is ideologically conservative, but operationally liberal. In theory, most Americans want to be self-reliant and disdain handouts, yet still scream foul whenever politicians even speak of either taking more or giving less.

For far too long, Americans have been sold the idea that they can pay relatively low taxes, while still expecting a vast array of social programs and high levels of government spending.

The total U.S. public debt is greater than $50,000 for every American. We’ve all personally benefited enormously from a U.S. fiscal policy that has been unsustainable for quite some time now.

We benefit from massive amounts of spending that enhances our safety, solidifies our social safety nets, entitles us to pleasant retirements, delivers us affordable health care, improves our infrastructure and so on.

The last time total U.S. tax revenues were greater than public expenditures was 2001. Before Bill Clinton was in office, the last U.S. budget surplus was in 1969.

Many economists argue that it would be misguided for any government to raise taxes or cut spending amid a recession. There is validity to this argument in regards to nations with manageable sums of debt. However it is completely irrational to ignore an outstanding public debt exceeding $16.7 trillion for short-term political convenience.

Each fiscal year since Obama took office in 2009, deficits have been at least double that of any previous budget in U.S. history.

Running a budget surplus has been a non-priority because of the political liability associated with austerity. Fiscally responsible policies such as raising taxes or attacking entitlements have largely been considered political suicide.

What are the most responsible and significant ways the United States can slash the debt? The following are three common sense proposals.

Entitlement spending is the most important issue to solve long term because it accounts for much of the structural deficit in the budget. Entitlement spending, as well as government pensions, must be drastically reduced. Raising the minimum eligibility age for social security benefits from 62 to something closer to 70 would be a solid start.

At this point in American history, income inequality has never been greater. The United States should create more progressive income tax brackets at the top to differentiate between incomes exceeding $250,000, $1 million and $10 million, as Warren Buffet has suggested.

Despite having withdrawn from costly wars in the Middle East, thus far in 2013 U.S. military spending has still accounted for 39 percent of all military spending in the world, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

This is way too much.

There is no scientific way to estimate how far into the future it will take for the U.S. fiscal policy to backfire. If we do not significantly change course, however, it seems likely that nations such as China will eventually stop buying our treasury bonds.

One of the major consequences of debt is that it enables us to live better today at the expense of those who follow us. When the amount in question is roughly $16.7 trillion, the United States has a moral obligation to make structural changes to its fiscal policy.

Ethan Demers is a senior political science and history major. His column appears weekly. He can be reached at [email protected].





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