BUT WHOOSE OX IS GONNA GET GORED?

OK, so the government needs to make some drastic spending cuts. But at whose expense? I sure don’t want my Social Security and Medicare benefits cut! And I don’t want families that are stuck in poverty to lose their Medicaid benefits. How can the government make drastic spending cuts without slashing those social safety net benefits?

CAREENING TOWARD THE CLIFF
By Monica Crowley

politicalmavens.com
June 27, 2011

In the last few weeks, two of the major credit rating agencies, Standard and Poor’s and Moody’s, have warned that unless the federal government does something to reduce the exploding national debt, America’s triple-A rating may very well be downgraded. S&P warned again this week.

Today we get word from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) that the long-term debt picture has darkened…and quickly. National Journal reports:

“Increasing federal debt will be a growing burden on government action, crowding out lawmakers’ ability to adopt tax and spending priorities in good times and reducing flexibility during recessions, all while making a fiscal crisis more likely and hindering long-term growth, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday.

“In the annual Long-Term Budget Outlook, the legislature’s budget scorekeepers said that the ratio of debt to GDP this year will be 69 percent, 7 percentage points higher than last year. In 2021, the CBO predicts debt will reach 76 percent of GDP, but under a more dire-and more likely-scenario, the public debt will be 101 percent of GDP 10 years from now, well into the economic danger zone of 90 percent or more.

“Last year, that worst-case scenario predicted a debt-to-GDP ratio of 87 percent in 2020, demonstrating that the public debt picture has worsened considerably.”

Democrats are predictably arguing for tax hikes, which would, of course, kill off this economy for good. But like an addict, they need the hit of ever-growing taxpayer monies to pay for their ever-growing government. The beast needs to be fed.

Actually, the beast needs to be put on a starvation diet. Cut spending drastically, reform entitlements a la Paul Ryan’s Medicare plan, and reduce taxes across the board. If those things were done, you’d see a nearly instant turnaround in the economy and in the psychology of most Americans.

The Democrats prefer to plod along with their destructive big government, big spending, big tax policies, hoping that no one catches on to their epic failures.

It’s too late for that, of course, but it’s not too late to prevent the country from sailing over the cliff. The brakes, however, have to be hit now—and hard.