Forget the old chestnut about politics being the art the possible. The way senators and representatives – not to mention their constituents – have conducted themselves in the last several Congressional sessions, politics is nothing but a logjam. It might require an act of God to get effective government going again. So, as the 112th Congress convenes this week, let’s hope He lets the laws of physics exert their rightful dominion over all things that move, separate, collide, inflate, combust, freeze, thaw, oxidize and whatever else they do in the physical universe.
Earlier in the decade the ideological pendulum swung so far to the right it was inevitable that the equal and opposite leftward reaction would hardly be balanced like it is supposed to be under natural law. Politics yawed sharply to the left when Democrats grabbed the House gavel for the 110th Congress in 2007, and then took an even sharper angle in that direction during the 111th session in 2009. But maybe that was a good thing. Maybe the inevitable opposite reaction back to the right will only have enough steam to move ideology and government back to the middle where prudent legislation has a chance of getting passed.
The federal budget is the primary issue facing the new 112th Congress in 2011 and 2012. Until the budget is addressed with reasonable discussion of the situation and realistic assessments of how spending can be controlled and income increased, not much else can be undertaken in terms of providing services, entitlements and security.
Entitlement programs account for about 55 percent of the federal government’s budget. Social Security and Medicare alone represent a third of the federal budget. They continue to operate whether tax money is available or not. Legislators will have to control these costs through a combination of re-qualifying recipients and possibly reducing benefits. Then they have to convince Americans of the fairness and judiciousness of their plans.
Defense represents 20 percent of the budget; but in these dangerous times cutting defense appropriations is not to be approached frivolously.
Appropriations for discretionary programs and the multitude of government agencies like the EPA, FDA, FBI add up to around 20 percent; and the amounts each program receives are evaluated annually. The remainder of the budget is targeted for administrative and miscellaneous activities.
It seems the greatest opportunity to cut spending and get federal finances back on an even keel is in the area of entitlements. While everyone should be able to admit that programs like Social Security need to be reformed – that it can’t go on forever without re-structuring – it is just as important for everyone to approach the debate with informed views that take into consideration the reasonable concerns of all interest groups. Realistically, though, legislators will probably take their shot at controlling government spending in the discretionary program sector. These programs are budgeted on an annual basis, and the order can go out that all departments have to cut their costs by “x” number of percentage points. Just like in the real world of business and homemaking.
The financial situation of the country could be worse than it appears. Despite their hue and cry about the growing deficit and swelling national debt, the Tea Partiers’ strident protests could actually be understated. The government caught a fiscal break in a sense, thanks to the Federal Reserve’s low interest rate policies that were instituted in hopes of countering the effects of the 2008 economic meltdown. Instead of seeing debt service payments spike as the nation’s debt burden climbed 36 percent to $13.5 trillion, the U.S. treasury actually saved $202 billion of estimated interest obligation when rates were slashed. But that type of good fortune doesn’t last very long in bad times; and there could be a brutal hangover if all the factions of Americans and their lawmakers don’t come together to make some mutually painful decisions.
Earlier in the decade the ideological pendulum swung so far to the right it was inevitable that the equal and opposite leftward reaction would hardly be balanced like it is supposed to be under natural law. Politics yawed sharply to the left when Democrats grabbed the House gavel for the 110th Congress in 2007, and then took an even sharper angle in that direction during the 111th session in 2009. But maybe that was a good thing. Maybe the inevitable opposite reaction back to the right will only have enough steam to move ideology and government back to the middle where prudent legislation has a chance of getting passed.
The federal budget is the primary issue facing the new 112th Congress in 2011 and 2012. Until the budget is addressed with reasonable discussion of the situation and realistic assessments of how spending can be controlled and income increased, not much else can be undertaken in terms of providing services, entitlements and security.
Entitlement programs account for about 55 percent of the federal government’s budget. Social Security and Medicare alone represent a third of the federal budget. They continue to operate whether tax money is available or not. Legislators will have to control these costs through a combination of re-qualifying recipients and possibly reducing benefits. Then they have to convince Americans of the fairness and judiciousness of their plans.
Defense represents 20 percent of the budget; but in these dangerous times cutting defense appropriations is not to be approached frivolously.
Appropriations for discretionary programs and the multitude of government agencies like the EPA, FDA, FBI add up to around 20 percent; and the amounts each program receives are evaluated annually. The remainder of the budget is targeted for administrative and miscellaneous activities.
It seems the greatest opportunity to cut spending and get federal finances back on an even keel is in the area of entitlements. While everyone should be able to admit that programs like Social Security need to be reformed – that it can’t go on forever without re-structuring – it is just as important for everyone to approach the debate with informed views that take into consideration the reasonable concerns of all interest groups. Realistically, though, legislators will probably take their shot at controlling government spending in the discretionary program sector. These programs are budgeted on an annual basis, and the order can go out that all departments have to cut their costs by “x” number of percentage points. Just like in the real world of business and homemaking.
The financial situation of the country could be worse than it appears. Despite their hue and cry about the growing deficit and swelling national debt, the Tea Partiers’ strident protests could actually be understated. The government caught a fiscal break in a sense, thanks to the Federal Reserve’s low interest rate policies that were instituted in hopes of countering the effects of the 2008 economic meltdown. Instead of seeing debt service payments spike as the nation’s debt burden climbed 36 percent to $13.5 trillion, the U.S. treasury actually saved $202 billion of estimated interest obligation when rates were slashed. But that type of good fortune doesn’t last very long in bad times; and there could be a brutal hangover if all the factions of Americans and their lawmakers don’t come together to make some mutually painful decisions.