By Heath Haussamen
The media on Monday shouted out the news that President Bush will leave office with a record deficit of $482 billion this year. The previous high came during another Bush-presidency year, 2004.
Liberal Web sites were quick to pounce. The Huffington Post headlined its coverage of the issue “forever in your debt” with a photo underneath of Bush waving. Daily
There is a lot of truth in their criticism. But there’s far more behind the nation’s deficit than the policies of the Bush administration.
“If the last eight years have taught us anything, it’s that Republicans have no clue how to manage our nation’s finances,” he wrote.
Wait a minute: Congress has a role in this too, as
It does, of course. What have congressional Democrats done to rein in the out-of-control spending of a president who claims to be a conservative but doesn’t spend like one? Very little. In light of this year’s record deficit, you could argue that congressional Democrats have done nothing to stop Bush.
And the bipartisan work of the
MasterCard won’t get us out of this mess
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., released a statement claiming that Bush “has mortgaged our future,” but Democrats have begun to work to fix the problems. She cited bipartisan work on tax rebates, a new GI Bill and efforts to fix the housing crisis.
She’s taking the view that
There’s no balance in that view of balancing the budget. Stimulating the economy to generate revenue is half of the equation. The other is saving money by controlling spending.
The Democrats are joining Bush in failing to do that. Hence the largest deficit in the history of the
The 2001 recession and the 9/11 terrorist attacks certainly contributed to this situation, which was exacerbated significantly by a Republican president and Congress who ran amok for years. But it wasn’t just Republicans who approved lots of money to invade
Though there are widely differing opinions on Bush’s response to the terrorist attacks, most agree that at least some war spending was justified. Rainy days happen. That’s why it’s so important to save for them. I realize we live in a capitalistic society, but that doesn’t mean the phrase “for everything else, there’s MasterCard” is a bit of wisdom. It isn’t.
A balanced budget requirement — with an emergency, wartime exemption — and some money in reserve are critical to the long-term health of the nation. It’s time for another serious push for a balanced budget amendment. And it’s time for some honesty on this issue. Americans understand that this and so many other issues are problems with