The Tea Party, and moderate Republicans and Democrats who are scared of loosing their seats, are proffering a myth. The myth is that we can have deficit reduction, tax cuts, and reduced government spending all at the same time, and all while maintaining the same level of government services--especially Social Security, Medicare, and large-scale defense spending.Yet in the back of our minds we know such a plan is impossible.
Tax cuts reduce government revenue. With less government revenue there is less money available to spend, whether on deficit reduction or government entitlements.
To maintain the same level of government entitlements--which even many Tea Party candidates suggest--requires the same level of government spending, minus stimulus spending, that the United States maintains today. Deficit reduction requires either further government spending or a reduction in government entitlements. There is a limited pool of money, and there isn't enough to go around. That's what makes this myth about tax cuts, deficit reduction, and government spending all the more dangerous.
Deficit reduction is important for the economic health of the United States over the long-term. Maintaining Social Security, Medicare, and Veterans entitlements are important to maintaining a certain quality-of-life for the large number of citizens retired, or about to retire. If any of the candidates who are plying this myth among the public make it into elected office then the United States government could end up in a more troubled fiscal situation than it is now.
I would love a tax cut. But I would rather pay less taxes in the future by laying a better fiscal foundation today. Nothing in this life is free. It is impossible to live up to the dreamworld this myth offers. Reality bytes. However, we can leave a better world to our children.
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