The balanced budget fantasy

There’s really only one thing to say about this.

One of Gov. Rick Perry’s campaign staples last year was that America would be a far better place if it were more like the Lone Star State — limited government, fewer taxes, sensible regulation and, of course, a balanced budget.

Now, Perry and his cohorts in the Texas Legislature are making that critique more explicit by pushing for a resolution calling for a constitutional amendment that would force Congress to do what those in Texas are required to do: balance the budget annually.

Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst called for a federal balanced budget amendment in their inaugural addresses, and Perry declared support for a balanced federal budget an emergency issue, which means that lawmakers can begin to consider it right away.

“It fits into his overall philosophy about government and fiscal responsibility,” Perry spokesman Mark Miner said. “In Texas, at the end of the day, the budget will be balanced. It’s the Texas way versus the federal way, which is to continue spending without being accountable.”

Dewhurst, in an Austin American-Statesman article co-written with state Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, contended that Congress “lacks fiscal responsibility and is spending all of us into serious debt. … It is time for Texas to lead the way and seek a convention so that the states may propose a national balanced budget amendment.”

In Washington, another Texan is making a similar push. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, along with U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and 21 other senators introduced a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution last week.

Let’s put aside the economic illiteracy of this proposal – Lord only knows how much higher the unemployment rate would be right now if the federal government had been forced to cut a bunch of spending in 2009. And let’s put aside the irony of Perry, Dewhurst, et al lecturing others on fiscal responsibility given that they’ve presided over budget deficits in three of the last five Legislative sessions – they were bailed out of having to face up to it last time thanks to the federal stimulus that they all profess to hate – and given that they’ve built a structural deficit into Texas’ budget thanks to the irresponsible 2006 property tax cuts. Let’s just focus on one simple question: Why, after ten years of governoring, is this such a high priority for Rick Perry right now? I mean, it’s not like the federal government wasn’t running deficits during his first eight years in office. In fact, when Rick Perry took office, the federal government was in surplus, thanks to the economic policies of President Bill Clinton, but it didn’t take long for President Bush to fix that. But only now that Bush is safely out of office is Rick Perry concerned about this. Whyever do you suppose that may be?

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2 Responses to The balanced budget fantasy

  1. mark says:

    and yet we still keep electing this guy as gubner. man, wtf is wrong with this state?

  2. Ross says:

    It’s funny how none of the people clamoring for a balanced budget at the Federal level remember they borrowed money to buy homes and cars. We probably shouldn’t run deficits for operating expenses, but there’s no reason not to borrow to pay for long lived assets.

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