Stop the red ink
The White House needs a few budget hawks
The national deficit for the current fiscal year tops $1 trillion, with a month still to go in the federal fiscal year. Congress and President Donald Trump need to get a grip.
Otherwise, former President Herbert Hoover will be proved right: “Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt.”
The U.S. Treasury Department this month reported that national budget expenses exceeded revenue by $1.07 trillion for the past 11 months, and that total could worsen as there are 30 more days left to be tabulated before the end of the current federal fiscal year. That’s the highest deficit in seven years, and is hardly a distinction the president will brag about.
Spending for those 11 months climbed to $4.1 trillion, 7% higher than the same period for the prior fiscal year, while revenue grew to $3.1 trillion, up 3% from the previous fiscal year. The only other time the federal government has had trillion-dollar deficits was between 2009 and 2012 when federal spending jumped to cope with the nation’s worst financial crisis since the 1930s.
Deficits typically do not skyrocket when the economy is expanding, as it has been for 10 years. The deficit was $585 billion in 2016, so it’s nearly doubled in three years and is 19% higher than a year ago.
Lack of constraints on spending and deliberately granting tax breaks that undercut government revenue collections were the main ingredients of this toxic financial mix.
Specifically contributing was Mr. Trump’s 2017 tax cut, higher military spending and rising interest expenses on the government’s debt.
All of that is leading to more government borrowing. White House officials even have suggested that 50year or maybe even 100-year Treasury bonds be sold to cover debt expenses. The current maximum is 30 years. If such bonds are issued, it would truly mean our children’s children would be paying for the nation’s current debts.
Deficits used to be reviled by Republicans, which as a political party for decades was steadfast against ballooning budget losses. But Mr. Trump and Congress have lurched forward with little concern about unchecked deficits now and those that are expected in years to come.
The red ink needs to stop. The country’s interest payments alone on its debts this year are $380 billion, up $47 billion from a year ago. Debts could accumulate to a point that the nation would be beholden to the Chinese or other nations for a bailout.
The consequences are dire if we don’t change course, and soon. Budget hawks need to return to the White House and to the Capitol and set things straight, working on a plan for a balanced budget in the foreseeable future.