Looming Budget Deal Lacks Punch, Substance

Word out of Washington, D.C. is that Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI) – leaders of the 29-person budget conference who have hoarded the bulk of negotiations privately – have reached the broad outlines of a deal that will put forth spending level recommendations for 2014 and possibly 2015. But according the Washington Post, the deal is hardly anything to celebrate, even if it does represent a glimmer of hope for our polarized government:

“The deal expected to be sealed this week on Capitol Hill would not significantly reduce the debt, now $17.3 trillion and rising. It would not close corporate tax loopholes or reform expensive health-care and retirement programs. It would not even fully replace sharp spending cuts known as the sequester, the negotiators’ primary target.”

As a concerned citizen and outspoken member of the Campaign to Fix the Debt, someone who became involved in discussions surrounding federal spending and debt when the first crisis (fiscal cliff) arose in 2011, while not shocked at all, I am disappointed to say the least. Because as the Post points out, after two years of standoffs, manufactured crises and general avoidance of our nation’s largest problems (e.g., a Social Security program headed towards insolvency in 2033, an aging population putting significant strains on Medicare, or a tax code that leaves $1.3 trillion in potential federal revenue on the table to expenditures), “the emerging agreement amounts to little more than a cease-fire.” Indeed, “Republicans and Democrats are abandoning their debt-reduction goals, laying down arms and, for the moment, trying to avoid another economy-damaging standoff.”

That is not governing and is certainly not the type of leadership we need at such a critical juncture. While the forthcoming budget resolution could not formally enact policy changes, it could have certainly included a fast-track process for further savings – especially from fundamental tax and health reform. At a minimum, policymakers could have at least used the budget conference to decide the fate of the current sequestration cuts and the additional $20 billion of cuts scheduled to occur in mid-January. Replacing the mindless, abrupt, and temporary sequester cuts – which cost $105 billion annually – with targeted permanent reforms could help short- and long-term economic growth and improve the long-term fiscal outlook.

Instead, we get another senseless deal that does nothing more than preserve the political careers of those possessing far too much of our country’s fate. Because I care about the future of the US economy and how it impacts all of us, I will continue to do my part to tell Congress that until we address the soon-to-be insolvent programs that constitute the majority of the budget and drive up our debt as a result, the rest is theatrics.

Sure, the farm bill is expensive. As is legislation related to education funding, infrastructure development or protecting our country, but they should take a back seat to entitlement and tax reform until addressed. Without changes to these programs, the others mentioned, as well as the countless government programs not noted here, will maintain their presence on shaky ground.

The time is still now for elected leaders to take charge. From Senators Klobuchar (D-MN) and Franken (D-MN) to Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), Americans must use the 2014 midterm elections as an opportunity to push incumbents and challengers alike to run on change, not status quo. Given the lack of competitive elections on the House side, and to a certain extent, the Senate, their incentive for doing so is low, but with enough public pressure, I am confident that they may finally feel the need to act.

The time is now – let’s remind leaders in 2014 that the American people deserve the best out of Washington…and not what has been occurring for far too long.  The stakes are enormous and it does affect each and every one of us.  These budget issues and long term economic instability are not easy to understand.  But we all need to become aware of the problems, how they impact America and our own households, and work together to solve these issues. 

Here in Minnesota, when we have a tough problem, we roll up our sleeves, sharpen our pencil, and make another pot of coffee.  It is time for D.C. to do the same – to sit down at the table, discuss these issues, develop and enact a plan that will not only fix our economic dilemmas, but put us on the path to building a sound fiscal foundation.