Congress Is Fiscally Reckless. Will Lawmakers Step Up?
America’s greatness lies not in perfection but in her relentless pursuit of it. For nearly 250 years, this nation has strived to fully realize the revolutionary ideals laid out in its founding documents. While we have often fallen short, our capacity for self-reflection and renewal inspires hope and spurs improvement.
Let us hope the efforts of President-elect Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and others to reassess the aspects of government that border the presidency are performed in that same spirit. Let us also hope that Congress steps up to the plate and engages in its own self-reflection.
For the past few decades, Congress has transformed its constitutional “power of the purse” from a tool of responsible governance into an instrument of fiscal destructiveness. The most visible sign is a national debt that just crossed the $36 trillion threshold, barely three months after reaching $35 trillion. This is nuts. This year’s budget deficit is $1.9 trillion and will be $2.8 trillion in 10 years. Instead of practicing careful budgeting and oversight, Congress repeatedly relies on massive omnibus spending bills, often passed in haste without proper review.
The abdication of duty is bipartisan. Neither Democrats nor Republicans have shown genuine commitment to restoring fiscal responsibility. Basic oversight functions, like passing individual appropriations bills on schedule or conducting rigorous cost-benefit analyses, are regularly ignored. And, of course, very few in Congress want to take the steps needed to stabilize the major drivers of the government’s future debt: Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
Beyond this cowardice, Congress’ fiscal frivolity is visible everywhere. Take the issue of expired authorization. The newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has already flagged “$516 billion to programs whose authorizations previously expired under federal law. Nearl
Article from Reason.com
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