It used to be the norm that people would pay for services they used during their lifetime.
Passing debt along to children to pay was considered unthinkable not too long ago.
No longer. Since 2001, Republicans, Democrats and independents (who caucus with Democrats) in Congress have managed collectively to not do much of anything to stop the transfer of $31 trillion of debt from older generations to younger citizens ― except for one modest deal in 2011 and the recently passed Fiscal Responsibility Act to end the debt ceiling crisis.
We don’t need any laws to make elected representatives do the right thing. No Balanced Budget Amendment. No term limits. No budget resolutions such as discretionary caps or PAYGO mechanisms, even though they worked in the 1990s.
All we need to do is elect people to serve in Congress who will not check their brains at the door and simply “promise” to do the right thing based on their personal morals and ethics ― and balance the budget.
We need a new pledge similar to “The Taxpayer Protection Pledge,” otherwise known as the “No Tax Pledge,” instituted in 1986 by Americans for Tax Reform to protect the lower marginal tax rates passed under President Ronald Reagan.
The Tax Pledge has achieved its goal. Forty-two senators and 189 House representatives are current signatories, almost all Republicans. None of them will ever vote for higher marginal tax rates simply because they “gave their word” they wouldn’t by signing the pledge.
Great. Nothing wrong with that. But the Tax Pledge has done nothing to arrest the rate of growth in federal spending. Believe it or not, some of the reasoning behind the No Tax Pledge in 1986 was that it would “starve” the federal government beast of needed revenues left-wing libs wanted to use to fund their never-ending wish list of welfare programs.
It hasn’t worked out that way. In a world where the Federal Reserve can make up American currency out of thin air and expand its balance sheet by buying up close to half of all federal debt issued during the pandemic, there has been no downside for politicians who have voted for higher spending and lower taxes ― the “fun” stuff of politics. Both have led to annual trillion-dollar deficits and the previously mentioned $31 trillion national debt, up from $5.4 trillion in 2001.
We need a new taxpayer protection pledge to hold them personally accountable to their constituents in every congressional district and state in the country.
“The ‘I Am Going To Pay For Everything As I Go’ Pledge.” Short name it “I-PAYGO.”
The pledge would read as follows:
“I (state your name) will not vote for any new program or higher spending in existing programs unless I also vote for A) higher taxes to pay for it; B) budget savings offsets from other federal programs to pay for it; 3) and/or some combination of both. If no such higher taxes or offsets are found, then I will not vote for it”.
Period.
This may sound harsh to democratic republican purists who believe every elected leader will rise to the occasion and vote in the best interests of the country and future generations of Americans ― which hasn’t occurred in the past two decades. This personal affirmation will force each signatory to do the “hard things” they have been elected to do which is to set priorities for spending taxpayer money ― and not continue to do the easy things of increasing spending and cutting taxes with impunity.
Any signatory will be promising to do the following in Congress:
1) Vote against every appropriations bill until kingdom comes ― unless it is paid for; 2) Vote against every supplemental appropriations bill until kingdom comes ― unless it is paid for; 3) Vote against every tax cut bill until kingdom comes ― unless it is paid for by spending cuts elsewhere in the budget; and 4) introduce annual Budget Reconciliation bills with hundreds of billions of dollars of reductions and reforms in entitlements which are the main culprit in our massive deficits today anyway.
Politicians will adhere to promises made to their voting constituents through pledges. The Taxpayer Protection Pledge is living proof.
Tell your congressman and senator to sign the I-PAYGO Pledge. It will be the most important promise they can make to any voter today.
