Thursday, February 14, 2019
Political Mayhem Thursday: So, like, does anyone care about the deficit?
Last August, I wrote a piece for the Waco Tribune Herald about the rapidly growing federal deficit. You can read that piece here. At that time, I warned that the deficit just for that year would be almost one trillion dollars ($1,000,000,000,000), and the next several years would generate debt over one trillion.
And yet, no one seems to care.
Republicans don't care because this has happened during a period where Republicans controlled both houses of Congress and the presidency.
Democrats don't care because... well, they never seem to worry much about deficits. Though (as I pointed out in the earlier piece) in modern times Dems have done a better job of actually controlling deficit growth.
I do understand that deficit spending can be financed by printing money, but eventually the inflationary effects of doing that will catch up with us-- it works when inflation is not a threat, but not so much at other times.
Can someone explain to me why this isn't (or shouldn't be) an issue?
And yet, no one seems to care.
Republicans don't care because this has happened during a period where Republicans controlled both houses of Congress and the presidency.
Democrats don't care because... well, they never seem to worry much about deficits. Though (as I pointed out in the earlier piece) in modern times Dems have done a better job of actually controlling deficit growth.
I do understand that deficit spending can be financed by printing money, but eventually the inflationary effects of doing that will catch up with us-- it works when inflation is not a threat, but not so much at other times.
Can someone explain to me why this isn't (or shouldn't be) an issue?
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In politics, it's not an issue because it's too remote from the voters lived experience. People just can't wrap their minds around numbers that big, and even if they try the $200 taken out of their paycheck makes more immediate difference than another $200 billion in deficit spending. And it has been going on for decades, which robs the issue of any urgency. Plus, politicians always get to blame someone else.
In reality, budget deficits and cumulative debt matter a lot. Debt service each a huge chunk of annual tax revenue, severely limiting the government's ability to invest in things that matter.
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In reality, budget deficits and cumulative debt matter a lot. Debt service each a huge chunk of annual tax revenue, severely limiting the government's ability to invest in things that matter.
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