Weekly Columns
The nation's job creators consistently cite government overregulation as one of the most significant obstacles to economic growth. Likewise in my August town hall meetings and conversations with Oklahoma business leaders, frustration with government overreach is mentioned again and again as a major barrier to hiring and expansion. An Illinois farmer who confronted President Obama at a town hall meeting spoke for many when he said, "Please don’t challenge us with more rules and regulations from Washington.”
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) just released a midyear update of its Budget and Economic Outlook, and the results are educational. Amid the grim economic news are glimpses of the progress that is possible when Washington get its act together and cuts spending.
Good economic news is hard to come by this month. The national unemployment rate remains above 9 percent. The stock market is increasingly volatile -- jeopardizing countless retirement funds with regular plunges. And, of course, August kicked off with the announcement that one of the three major ratings agencies has downgraded U.S. creditworthiness.
The decision by Standard and Poor's to downgrade the U.S. credit rating from AAA to AA+ is no real shock to those of us who have been warning that government debt levels are unsustainable. It has been clear for quite some time that the country is heading for bankruptcy unless federal spending is reined in and our massive entitlement programs are reformed.
The debt agreement that passed both houses of Congress last week may have ended the immediate threat of default, but it is only the beginning of the process to address the growing debt crisis. While the legislation doesn't have everything House Republicans would have liked, there is no question that it adheres to the conservative principles we have maintained throughout the debt ceiling debate.
After a summer of debt discussions, the contrasts between House Republicans and Senate Democrats remain as clear as ever. House Republicans are committed to solving the long-term debt crisis. Senate Democrats just want to raise the debt limit long enough to make it through the next election, and then go back to business as usual. In their case, that means more spending.
Polls show the American people are justifiably fed up with the debt debate in Washington. As frustrating as the process has been, it is very encouraging that Congress -- for the first time in years -- is focused on reducing spending instead of increasing it. The federal debt limit has been raised no fewer than 51 times since 1978, but this is the first time in memory that Congress has tied spending cuts to the debt ceiling vote.
The ongoing debt ceiling debate highlights, once again, the fundamental differences in each party's approach to dealing with the deficit. Republicans want to cut spending; Democrats want to raise taxes.
Unemployment increased to 9.2 percent in the latest monthly jobs report, marking a modern record of 29 straight months with unemployment above 8 percent -- the longest such period recorded since the Great Depression. The dismal report happened to be released on the date that marked 800 days since Senate Democrats last passed a budget. The timing is fitting. There is a direct connection between sluggish job creation and the budget policies of President Obama and congressional Democrats.
With the economy still faltering and the debt limit deadline approaching in August, Democrats continue to tout tax increases as the great panacea to cure the nation's deficit and unemployment woes. President Obama doubled down on this flawed policy in a much-discussed press conference on June 29. Rather than directly calling for tax increases, the president cloaked his plans in empty rhetoric about "tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires" and euphemisms like "tackle spending in the tax code."