Did you ever wonder why when the government decides to increase spending it happens next week but when they talk about reducing spending it’s always in budget cycles five to ten years out? Does that really make any sense?
I really only care about what they will cut in their next budget and the one after that because there is some likelihood those same elected officials will still be around to be held accountable.
The Super Committee is agonizing about reducing spending somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.2 trillion over ten years. Considering the fact that federal spending increases 8% per year and that is considered a “no growth” budget. So what are they cutting the $1.2 trillion from?
Where else in the world could that happen?
If the budget is $2.4 trillion per year in 2011, then a no growth (8%more compounded) budget for 2012 would be about $2.6 trillion; $2.81trillion for 2013, $3.02 trillion for 2014 and on up to a total of about $37 trillion over the next ten years.
Remember, that is how much cash the federal government will spend over the next ten years when they consider an 8% increase in spending a no growth budget. They say they are trying to reduce spending by $1.2 trillion during that ten year period which amounts to about 3.2% of the $37 trillion. And they are agonizing?
I’d settle for a no growth budget being a zero percent increase year over year and no cuts. If they just capped spending at $2.4 trillion per year then over ten years we would only spend $24 trillion instead of $37 trillion.
Then if you consider that the government only takes in $1.8 trillion per year at the current level and that is not subject to the 8% growth rate. Generally a revenue growth rate of 3-4% is considered good and 5% is great. Let’s assume for this simple analysis a growth in revenue of 3.5% per year over the next ten years. Revenue received totals only $21.8 trillion when compounded.
Our current national debt is about $14 trillion and without reducing spending but actually increasing spending 8% year over year and experiencing 3.5% growth in revenue each year our national debt increases by another $15 trillion to about $29 trillion.
And the Super Committee is agonizing about cutting $1.2 trillion. There is also word that they are trying to make a “really big deal” and cut $4 trillion over ten years or slightly more than 10% of the $37 trillion total.
Could this discussion be any more absurd?
We need real spending cuts not a slowing of the growth rate.
If that weren’t bad enough, consider how you react when you are elected to Congress in 2016 and someone trots out this agreement to cut spending in some future budget cycle. Do you feel obligated to cut spending or kick the can to the next guy?
What happens if no future Congresses agree to make the cuts promised in 2011? What obligation does a future Congress have to honor agreements made by the Super Committee?
In a word; NONE.
It would be a good start to adopt a budget because that would indicate that the Senate finally came to the table. It would be better if we capped spending. It would be great if we could actually reduce spending.
I’m thinking I hear a kicking sound!
No Loss for Words 
Balance the Federal Budget
by Steve DanaI thought this link and this letter from Senator DeMint was worth consideration if we are serious about our national debt. Read the letter and click the link to get the ball rolling.
http://senateconservatives.com/stopthedebt
Dear Fellow Conservative:
The first major test for Republicans this year will be on how we address our nation’s exploding debt. We are quickly approaching the statutory debt limit of $14.3 trillion so this issue will come to a head very soon.
President Obama wants Congress to raise our nation’s debt ceiling again without doing anything serious to cut spending and balance the budget. His economic advisor, Austan Goolsbee, recently argued that the sky would fall unless we keep borrowing. But the truth is the sky is already falling BECAUSE we keep borrowing.
We must stop the debt and balance the budget, and that’s why I’m writing to ask for your help today.
There are senators on both sides of the aisle who hope their constituents won’t be paying attention when the Senate considers the debt limit in February. They want to quietly vote for more debt without paying a political price.
We can’t let that happen.
Please join me in doing two things right now.
First, visit http://stopthedebtpledge.com and sign our “Stop the Debt” pledge. It states, “I hereby pledge to support only those candidates who demand that Congress stop the debt and pass a Balanced Budget Amendment.”
In the last 10 years, Congress has raised the debt ceiling 10 times, but it has not voted a single time to pass a Balanced Budget Amendment. The only way to keep Congress from creating more debt is to pass a Constitutional Amendment that forces it to balance the budget without raising taxes.
Second, call your senators and tell them to “stop the debt and balance the budget”. Urge them to do everything it takes, including a filibuster, to block the debt limit increase and pass the Balanced Budget Amendment. Click here to contact your senators.
The Balanced Budget Amendment will:
Require Congress to balance the federal budget each year
Prevent Congress from spending more than 20 percent of GDP
Require a 2/3 super-majority vote to raise taxes
Every state except for Vermont has a requirement to balance its budget and so should Congress. This is a commonsense reform that is overwhelmingly supported by the American people. There is no reason why the Senate cannot pass the Balanced Budget Amendment.
The last time the Senate voted on the Balanced Budget Amendment was in 1997 when it was just one vote shy of the 67 votes needed for adoption.
We can win this policy battle if we’re willing to fight for our principles. All 47 Republicans voted in November to make the Balanced Budget Amendment the policy of the Senate Republican Conference, and there are 23 Democrats up for re-election in 2012 who won’t want to vote against it.
The President may attack conservatives who filibuster the debt limit and accuse us of putting the nation at risk, but the President and the politicians in Congress who refuse to balance the budget are the ones hurting our country. The time has come for Americans to draw a line in the sand and say “enough is enough”.
Please sign the “Stop the Debt” pledge, forward it to your friends and family, and call your senators to urge them to stop the debt and pass the Balanced Budget Amendment.
Respectfully,
Jim DeMint
United States Senator
Chairman, Senate Conservatives Fund
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