Budget B-S

Any self-proclaimed fiscal conservative who loudly proclaims we must cut taxes is either disingenuous or far too stupid to hold a policy-making position.

The original intent of tax cuts was to "starve the beast." If government revenues were limited, the theory went, government size must shrink as government expenditures were decreased. An excellent concept that did not work for one reason. Government expenditures did not shrink - they increased - as revenues declined - and were put on the national credit card. This combination is destroying us.

The reluctance of fiscal conservatives to place more revenue in the hands of irresponsible officials is understandable. Will those revenues be used to attack the deficit or provide more excuses for excessive, unaffordable spending? If recent history is any indicator, the answer to that question is not reassuring.

The hard fact is that combination of the Great Recession's loss of millions of private-sector jobs and the Bush and Obama era tax cuts for those who have weathered the recession unscathed have accelerated the growth of the national debt.

Fiscal liberals proclaim that times of economic distress call for increased government spending to provide relief and prime the pump of economic expansion. They conveniently ignore the uncomfortable reality that the coffers are empty.

The rich blame the poor for the fiscal mess in which we find ourselves. The poor blame the rich. The middle class blame both. The blame game works well during an election season. Unfortunately blame does not produce solutions. If anything, it inhibits constructive action.

Special interest groups fight tooth and nail to protect their turf. The more well-heeled they are and the more members they can claim, the more powerful their input into the process.

How did we get to a point in this country where no one seems willing to carry their share of the burden and everyone wants someone else to tote the load?