So here we are, in late
September, being told that the government might shut down next week
and then default on its debt in mid-October. And it’s all some
Republicans’ fault?
Let’s make sure I
understand this. Starting with the basics:
Unlike our state and
local budget years, which begin on July 1 (with mandated balanced
budgets by the way), the federal government budget year begins on
Oct. 1. The House has the constitutionally mandated responsibility
to initiate all spending bills, including budgets. The Senate then
agrees or disagrees; the President gets to sign or veto.
This last step is
supposed to be done by Oct. 1. There is no requirement that the
federal budget be balanced. If expenditures exceed revenues, the
federal government can borrow the difference and add it to the
national debt, which as of last weekend was $16,745,555,054,000 of
which my twin grandchildren owe $105,746.
Sometimes the federal
government borrows from other countries; sometimes it borrows from
itself, or a form of itself called the Federal Reserve, which buys
government bonds. It also “stimulates the economy.”
Where does the Federal
Reserve get the money to buy bonds and to stimulate the economy?
Thank you for asking, but it’s not your job to question where the
money comes from. It’s your job to “Spend!” so that jobs are
allegedly created to provide what you are spending on, even if most
of the money involved in this process is borrowed/printed/made up,
or taken in taxes from people who then can’t spend their own money
or save it in accounts from which it can be borrowed for genuine
economic activity.
To make it all so much
more interesting, this year the new budget year coincides with the
implementation of the “Affordable Care Act” (Obamacare), a law which
passed in 2010 with only Democratic support; those who questioned
its size and complexity were told by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that
“we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what’s in it.”
So, to find out what’s
in it, I bought “ObamaCare
Survival Guide” by Nick J. Tate, who made an admirable effort to
sort it all out as objectively as possible. But now my copy is
stuffed with newspaper clippings telling about things that have been
found wrong with it: there are already exemptions for certain
privileged groups, which include Congress itself. Some headlines:
“Limits on consumer costs in health care law delayed” (no longer so
affordable?); “Multiple Companies Changing Insurance Plans Due To
Obamacare;” “State lawmakers raise concerns about navigating
Obamacare health exchanges.” So, former Speaker Nancy (Republicans
took over the House in 2010 by running against Obamacare so she lost
her speakership): “What’s in it” seems to be creating problems.
Therefore, many
Congressional Republicans are trying to prevent what Sen. Max Baucus
(a Democrat who helped lead the fight to pass it) calls a “train
wreck.” The House, passing the federal budget for which it is
responsible, removed funding for Obamacare, which along with its
administrative chaos, is estimated by a Senate Budget Committee
study to cost $2.6 trillion over 10 years.
Obama and Democrat
leaders want bipartisan compromise, i.e., they want it all done
their way. They seem to think that our Founding Fathers made a
mistake in giving the House the “power of the purse.” The president
and Senate insist on their own version of the budget, which will
include Obamacare.
As for raising the debt
ceiling, quoting Nancy Pelosi again, resistance to adding even more
debt is “completely juvenile ... legislative arson.” President Obama
tells us that “raising the debt ceiling as we have done over a
hundred times, does not increase our debt; it does not somehow
promote profligacy. All it does is it says you got to pay the bills
that you’ve already racked up.”
Say what?! Yes, you’ve
got to pay the bills that you racked up under the present debt
ceiling, from your existing budget revenues. Raising the ceiling
says you intend to borrow even more. How does he think the debt got
to almost $17 trillion?
So, what do you think?
Should Republicans roll over, fund the train wreck, uncomplainingly
agree to another unbalanced budget, borrow until the national debt
doubles again?
The Republican House
has passed a budget, sans Obamcare. If the president and other
Democrats refuse to accept it, they, not Republicans, will be
shutting down the government.
Ted Cruz, Rand Paul,
Marco Rubio and other Senate Republicans are fighting valiantly in
the Senate against government takeover of our health care.
Keeping ObamCare will
continue to hurt the economy. Trying to avoid its costs and
bureaucracy, businesses are keeping the number of their full-time
employment below the level that triggers mandatory compliance; many
have moved employees to part-time. It should be quickly repealed,
and both parties should begin work on a truly non-partisan plan for
more affordable health care.
But if Democrats won’t
do that, here’s one possible compromise: Agree on another
“continuing resolution” to fund existing essential government
services, and put a hold on Obamacare until 2015. Then ask American
voters in 2014 to choose representatives who support the train wreck
and unlimited spending and debt or those who want fiscal
responsibility. Our decision, our country’s future.
