Thursday, March 28, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Thursday, January 21, 2010
Obama forms “fig leaf” commission to propose tax increases
By Heritage Foundation @ 2:47 PM :: 5096 Views :: National News, Ethics

From the President who brought you unaccountable, constitutionally-questionable czars comes the latest innovation in pass-the-buck leadership: a White House executive commission designed to solve the behemoth of a spending problem plaguing the federal government.  Members of Congress have described the commission as a “nothing burger,” a “fig leaf” and “something that is put in place to kind of cover [President Obama’s] rear end." Colorful critiques aside, it’s an executive commission tasked with making policy recommendations aimed at reducing the country’s projected $1.4 trillion deficit.

News of the commission follows the Senate’s debate this week on the increase of America’s debt limit by a whopping $1.9 trillion, which would raise Congress’ theoretical credit card limit to $14.3 trillion. That's a legal necessity if the federal government wants to keep borrowing more money.  The key word is "wants," since the only return on the borrowed money is out-of-control discretionary spending and an expansive entitlement system with no responsible fiscal future.  Congress must address the entitlements crisis if it wants to honestly address the root cause of our future debt problems.

Due to rising costs in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, federal spending will cause the debt to grow to 300% of the economy by 2050. In total, the entitlement programs have promised $45 trillion more in benefits than the country can afford to pay.  But hey, we can just raise taxes right?  Raising taxes to fund these benefits would require an additional $12,072 per household by 2050 and further thereafter, which would create a tremendous burden on families and future generations. Cutting spending will not be sufficient to pay for the programs, as they will consume the entire federal budget by 2052.

And if you think today's economy is bad, you'll really dislike what the future has in store.  If Congress does not immediately address its long-term debt problem, America will face a fiscal crisis far worse than what we've seen in the past two years. Publicly-held debt must not grow faster than the economy if it is to be sustainable; otherwise the demand on capital markets would be so severe that private and foreign lenders would stop buying U.S. securities. Yet the United States is still on an unsustainable course.

Enter the executive commission. The Wall Street Journal describes its component make-up: "The 18-member commission will include six people appointed by congressional Democrats, six appointed by congressional Republicans and six appointed by the president. Of the president's six, two will be Republicans and four will be Democrats."

This veneer of budget-fixing bipartisanship will no doubt make for a lovely rhetorical flourish at the President’s January 27 State of the Union Address, where it will likely serve as a centerpiece in his argument that he is making serious efforts to tackle out-of-control spending.

But as The Heritage Foundation’s Stuart Butler explains, the commission would be inherently flawed and ineffective, given that it lacks the accountability and “public consultation” necessary to gain popular support for any reforms it recommends: "The commissioners would be chosen from a pool of potentially lame duck Members of Congress, with a report due after the election and recommendations to be crammed through and voted on by the end of the year in a lame duck session. If this process were actually successful, it would virtually guarantee a back-room “Andrews Air Force Base” deal consisting of immediate and real tax hikes combined with distant and doubtful spending cuts."

There’s a deeper truth at work here: a commission to study budget reform is an unnecessary measure designed to keep one’s hands clean while another does the dirty work. In reality, there’s nothing stopping Congress or the President from acting on their own accord and bearing the mantle of responsibility that the public has placed on their shoulders. In short, they have the power – but evidently not the will – to take serious steps to cut spending and reduce the deficit that this year exploded to “26 percent of the economy.”

They could start with canceling TARP, capping discretionary spending growth (which has increased by 25 percent over the last three years), and returning to federal spending levels of just a decade ago.  These fiscally prudent steps would immediately signal the American public that Congress comprehends the crisis.  At that time, Washington could undertake serious entitlement reform that puts America on a fiscally responsible path forward.  Understanding you have a problem is a good start, but a lame duck commission is not the solution.

---30---

RECENT ENTRIES

QUICK HITS

  • According to the AP, "the number of newly laid-off workers seeking jobless benefits unexpectedly rose last week, as the economy recovers at a slow and uneven pace."
  • The New York Times attempts to rationalize why so many college professors are liberal by blaming "typecasting" in this morning's edition, and also blames William F. Buckley and conservatives themselves.
  • 200,000 Haitians could apply for Temporary Protected Status to live and work in the United States, starting Thursday. Their status would allow them to remain the United States for 18 months. They must first prove they were in the United States before January 12, when the earthquake struck Haiti.
  • The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has retracted its earlier 2007 claim that the Himalayan glaciers were likely to disappear by 2035. The IPCC now says there is little scientific evidence to back up their claim.
  • For the first time in the history of the Index for Economic Freedom, the United States is no longer in the top category of economically free countries and is even second in the North American region (behind Canada). This year's score of 78, though high in global standards, is 2.7 points lower than last year and bumps the United States to a second-tier country of freedom. For more, visit www.JobsAndFreedom.com.
Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

808 Silent Majority

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federalist Society

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Homeschool Association

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Smokers Alliance

Hawaii State Data Lab

Hawaii Together

HIEC.Coop

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Moms for Liberty

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

Investigative Project on Terrorism

July 4 in Hawaii

Kakaako Cares

Keep Hawaii's Heroes

Land and Power in Hawaii

Legislative Committee Analysis Tool

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

Malama Pregnancy Center of Maui

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Military Home Educators' Network Oahu

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Christian Foundation Hawaii

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

No GMO Means No Aloha

Not Dead Yet, Hawaii

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Oahu Alternative Transport

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

OurFutureHawaii.com

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

PEACE Hawaii

People vs Machine

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

P.U.E.O.

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

ReRoute the Rail

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

Robotics Organizing Committee

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Sink the Jones Act

Statehood for Guam

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

UCC Truths

US Tax Foundation Hawaii Info

VAREP Honolulu

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii

Yes2TMT