analyticsbox | Jun 15, 2022
It’s Time to Focus on the Problem, Not Who Caused It
Last week in Facts, No Spin #55, The Debt Bomb, we discussed the most pressing long term economic problem of our time, the out of control, unsustainable Federal Debt. Bad Fiscal Policy is the root cause of our Federal Debt. And bad Fiscal Policy, compounded with bad monetary policy, gets us high inflation as well.
And we hear ad nauseam who is to blame. The government is undermining its own credibility and that is why the public has no confidence in DC (20% has confidence in government to do the right thing according to Pew Research nor the direction the country is headed in - now 23% think we are headed in the right direction (according to Rasmussen polls).
At this point, we don’t care who caused the problem, JUST FIX IT. The current policies and those proposed, don’t fix the problems, they just make things worse. And then we get the nonsensical explanations of how bad policy is going to make it better. Come on, man, we are not idiots. Cut the PBS (political bull s–t). Try good economic policy for a change. It is no wonder the public has such a low regard for DC and its politicians.
What should we be doing?
BALANCE THE BUDGET. This is not rocket science, just common sense. History tells us all we need to know. Presidents Harding and Coolidge presided over the Roaring 20’s. Harding inherited a depression in 1921, what did he do? Cut taxes, made the government smaller, and balanced the budget, even ran a surplus and reduced the Federal Debt. Coolidge continued similar frugal policies. RESULT: The Roaring 20’s, a decade of growth.
President Hoover and Roosevelt did just the opposite. RESULT: The Great Depression, a decade of misery.
MUCH EASIER SAID THAN DONE. But it can be done. How? Cut spending, cut regulations and get out of the way, make Entitlements self-sustaining, get sound energy policies - then watch the economy grow, inflation decline and everyone’s standard of living start to rise in a growing economy. No, it cannot happen overnight, but we must get started. The longer we wait, the harder it will be.
The ‘political class’ must get this message from the ‘voting public’ in order for this to happen. Politicians act in their own self-interest and vote for what they perceive we want in order to get re-elected. We must send the message, if you want my vote, then offer common sense economic policies which lead to a balanced budget, and promote growth, not inflation or stagflation. And for goodness sake, get the debt under control before the bomb blows.
BOTTOM LINE
It is up to the voters to understand the problem and send the message to Fix the Problem, not the Blame. We do not care who caused this 5 Alarm Fire, We do care who will fix it.