Capitulation before the First Shots Are Fired

Capitulation by Republicans in the budget battle reflects a fundamental flaw in federal fiscal policies

By Barry W. Poulson

For a half-century, conservatives have watched Congress incur deficits and accumulate debt, making ours one of the most indebted countries in the world. There is little doubt this debt is unsustainable or that the federal government must enact reforms to constrain spending, especially entitlement spending, which is one of the major sources of U.S. debt today.

Republicans in Congress promised to address our fiscal crisis with fundamental reform of entitlements and other programs. They promised to constrain spending, balance the budget, and reduce debt over the next decade. So far, they have not been able to do this, at first because of gridlock with Democrats in the Senate and then because of President Barack Obama’s promise to veto any legislation introducing real reform. But with the election of Donald Trump and control of both houses of Congress, Republicans can finally break through the budget gridlock.........We certainly can’t sit back and watch the debt increase from $20 trillion to $29 trillion over the next decade -- the debt projected under this continuing resolution......... More