Getting Our Fiscal House in Order

We the People. Those three words launch the blueprint of our democracy. Abraham Lincoln said we have a “government of the people, by the people, for the people.” That means our government serves us. Our government reflects us. Our government is us! That’s why our government must behave and act responsibly on our behalf. We should expect our government to face its fiscal challenges the same way any responsible citizen would.

A responsible citizen who spends more than he makes must adjust in order to balance his budget. He can cut his spending, increase his income, or do a combination of both. Just like the citizen with an unbalanced budget, our government spends much more than it takes in. And our government faces the same choices when it comes to spending and income.

The responsible citizen can find an extra job, or a higher paying job. But that takes time. He must update his resume, look for job openings, go on job interviews, etc. None of these things are guaranteed to work, and even if he is eventually successful, it takes some time. In the meantime, he can bring his budget immediately under control by focusing on the spending side of his balance sheet. He can trim his excess spending and begin to balance his budget even while still earning the same income.

Likewise, our government should do the same thing to balance its budget and steadily diminish the national debt: cut excess spending first, then raise the revenue necessary to complete the budget balancing process. In other words, our government needs to slash wasteful spending, find more efficient ways to run its programs, and eliminate unnecessary expenditures before it goes raising taxes on anyone, wealthy or otherwise. Once our government is running in the most reasonably efficient and cost-effective way possible, then and only then does it earn the right to increase any citizen’s taxes. As long as our government wastes, misspends, or otherwise throws away our tax dollars, it does not possess the moral right to ask any of us to pay more.

President Obama insists that raising tax rates on the wealthiest Americans is a necessary first step toward getting our fiscal house in order. But our government should make sure it is spending our tax dollars fairly first before it asks anyone to “pay their fair share.”