Guest Post by Ron Paul
According to the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) latest “Update on the Budget Outlook,” this year’s $3.3 trillion federal deficit is not just three times larger than last year: it is the largest federal deficit in history. The CBO update also predicts that the federal debt will equal 104 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) next year and will reach 108 percent of GDP by 2030.
The CBO update also shows that the Social Security, Medicare, and highway trust funds will all be bankrupt by 2031. This will put pressure on Congress to bail out the trust funds thus further increasing the debt.
This year’s spike in federal spending was caused by the multi-trillion dollar coronavirus relief/economic stimulus bills passed by Congress and signed by the president. However, spending had already increased by $937 billion from the time President Trump was sworn in until the lockdown.
Federal spending is unlikely to be reduced no matter who wins the presidential election. Former Vice President Joe Biden has proposed increasing spending on everything from Obamacare to militarism to “green” cronyism. Yet some progressives are attacking Biden for being to “stingy” in his spending proposals. Even more distressing is how few progressives are critical of Biden’s support for increasing the military budget.
With some notable exceptions, such as his infrastructure plan, President Trump is not proposing any massive new spending programs. However, he Is not promising to stop increasing, much less cut, federal spending.
Most Republicans have abandoned their Obama-era opposition to deficit spending to support President Trump’s spending increases. This repeats a pattern where Republicans oppose deficit spending under a Democrat president but decide that “deficits don’t matter” when a Republican is sitting in the Oval Office. If Biden wins in November, Republicans will likely once again discover that deficits do matter, especially if Democrats also gain control of the Senate.
Government spending forcibly takes resources from the private sector, where they are used to produce goods and services desired by consumers, and puts them in the hands of politicians and bureaucrats. This distorts the market, reducing efficiency and lowering the people’s standard of living. This, combined with pressure to monetize the federal debt, causes the Federal Reserve to pump money into the economy leading to a boom-bust business cycle.
Unless Congress begins reducing spending, the coming economic crisis will be even worse. The logical place to start cutting spending is ending all unnecessary overseas commitments, corporate welfare, and shuttling down all unconstitutional federal agencies — starting with the Department of Education.
The savings from these cuts can be used to start paying down debt and providing for those truly dependent on the current system while we transition away from the welfare state. Private charities, including ones run by religious organizations, are better than government bureaucracies at providing effective and compassionate aid to those in need.
Most politicians will not vote to curtail the welfare-warfare state unless their constituents demand it. The people will not demand an end to big government as long as so many believe that the government has a moral responsibility to, and is capable of, providing them with economic and personal security.
Therefore, our priority must be on getting people to reject the entitlement mentality and embrace the philosophy of liberty and personal responsibility. This will enable us to build a movement capable of convincing politicians to stop voting for more spending and debt and instead vote to respect the Constitutional limitations on government in all areas.
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See Jim Quinn’s article to understand the type of people you get when you reject Dr Paul’s advice on what “government can do for you”
People never learn unless it’s the hard way. Sometimes the hard way is very, very hard indeed, and I believe this will be the case in the US from here on out.
Socialism/Marxism/Communism is always a tool used to manipulate the young and idealistic. Typically they are in school (such as it is) and have part-time or no employment (even worse today).
They have never really paid their own way, and mommy and daddy have funded their fabulous basement lifestyles and college campus idiocy.
They know zero of the value of anything. They open the fridge, there is magically food. The flip a light switch, and there is light. Hot water flows from shower heads. Heat pours from vents and baseboards.
The Cornucopia of Clean Clothes is ever-producing.
Never have they worried about a cell phone bill, never mind their next meal. They never have to eat food that may or may not be old enough to cause serious, explosive diarrhea or disease.
They have a boo boo they go to the doc. And not a back-alley guy either, with rats and roaches as acting nurses.
Their shoes have no holes. Their pants, only holes strategically placed by some hack overpriced moron who dresses like Derek Zoolander.
They have so much time on their hands they can dye their hair any color they choose, except for the color of actual hair.
They can pierce, tattoo, scar, and identify, their soft, flabby bodies with all the time they have and lack of responsibility.
They can riot, occupy, burn, loot, and generally engage in temper tantrums all across this land because they have been led to believe that they have the right to do so.
And certain people pulling the strings are using them to a very bad end.
When the dust settles, it will not turn out like they think it will.
What exactly do all these unemployed layabouts think they are going to get from this? Do they believe they will be moving into million dollar townhomes in NY, San Fran, LA, or Seattle? Then what? Who will pay to keep the lights on? The water? Insure these places?
Because what? After they get all the things they “want” they are suddenly going to be good little boys/girls/Xe and work JOBS? That is laughable.
They envision some ridiculous society where everyone just lays around, fully clothed and fed, smoking weed and living in perfect racial harmony.
After we give some very loud people their “reparations” can we call it done? Will it be over? Hardly.
The root of the problem is debt, sure, but it’s so much more entrenched. It’s generations of lazy, loud, ignorant people who refuse to participate as productive members mad because other people are.
So when NY, LA, San Fran, Portland, Seattle, et al are now a Venezuelan paradise, who to blame then? Oh right…not themselves. That would make sense.
Pup – The root of the problem is entitlement and you laid it out very concisely.
One of two probable futures (IMO), first things continue as they are indefinitely and these scabs wind up some how “moving into million dollar townhomes in NY, San Fran, LA, or Seattle”but the seeds of social destruction they have sown bare fruit and they are faced with hooligans who want to take away “their” “privileges” . Good luck, fools. Or the other future: things go to pot, big time. These helpless are left to provide for themselves. They come to me for help and I feed them enough to turn a turnstile that runs my air conditioner. I’ve never had air conditioning, a guy has a right to dream, doesn’t he?
Absolutely, debt is the real disease and we hear nothing about this, just Trump will not wear a mask, and every states debt problem is Trumps doing, because according to dems, these shutdowns, happened on Trump’s watch……
This is almost 38 mins long, but puts this scamdemic in its place.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UvFhIFzaac&fbclid=IwAR1DSrpWjnjSbZ-5JfkHRRdMNOM-mukNJe3bUDdMnOLZv8u-LFfCdIsMbGI
“Government spending forcibly takes resources from the private sector, where they are used to produce goods and services desired by consumers, and puts them in the hands of politicians and bureaucrats.” Does Ron Paul even write this stuff anymore, or does he just have an intern do it? This is 10 year old boilerplate.