As a deal appears close to getting done in the ongoing debt crisis, many Americans are wondering what we can do to ensure that our country never faces this situation again. For many, the answer lies in a balanced budget amendment to the United States Constitution. Essentially, a balanced budget amendment would guarantee that the government would have to live within its means. Under a balanced budget amendment, the government could not spend more than it takes in. There is no doubt that excessive spending, by not only this administration, but previous administrations as well, has put us in this perilous position. Responsible American families live by a budget, so why shouldn't the government as well? Let me just say that I am all for balancing the budget, but I do have one concern with a balanced budget amendment. If such an amendment were to be ratified by the states, it would effectively make it illegal for the government to go over their yearly budget. What's wrong with that you might ask? What do we do as a nation if we have reached our budget limit, and we experience a national crisis or emergency? God forbid we have to go through another 9/11, but if we do, and the budget limit has been reached, would we be unable to effectively defend our country because we can't allocate any more money? What do we do in the case of a tornado, a flood, a hurricane? Does the national government simply turn their back on states who suffer these disasters because we just don't have the money? I know that our government has not shown that it can spend money responsibly, but in my view, a balanced budget amendment could possibly put the safety and security of Americans in jeopardy. I think we all can agree that our government needs to spend less. I am just not convinced that a balanced budget amendment to the United States Constitution is the best way to make it happen.
I have a balanced budget amendment in my household but I have one other thing that goes along with it. It's something that the government cannot really ever have (well, a democratic one anyway). I have a savings account for those emergencies that I just didn't budget for.
ReplyDeleteWhy can't the government have a savings account? Because it isn't spending it's own earnings. Government money is seized from tax payers in the name of funding public needs (or making society better if you are lefty enough to think that's government's role). Government cannot take more money than it spends because doing so would violate the property right's of its own citizens.
The Republicans are wasting their time advocating for a balanced budget amendment and playing on people's lack of knowledge about civics, the US Constitution, and how government and debt really function. They should worry more about cutting spending below income so they can retire the debt. Time spent on anything else is by any elected official (regardless of party) is meant to distract the electorate and empower the already elected at the expense of the economy for years to come.