It’s clear where Republicans’ priorities lie, and voters will hold them accountable in November.
Des Moines Register [Editorial]: Reps. Blum, King and Young voted for budget-buster 2.0
While Americans were captivated by a U.S. Senate committee and Supreme Court nominee last week, the GOP-controlled U.S. House was busy acting to further starve the federal government and increase the country’s deficit and debt. Republicans sped through a three-bill package they dubbed “Tax Reform 2.0.”
A more fitting name would be Budget Buster 2.0.
The legislation, among other things, makes permanent tax cuts pushed through by Republicans last year and signed into law by President Donald Trump.
After accounting for economic growth, the 2017 tax overhaul is projected to cost the government $1.9 trillion, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The country’s growing budget deficit, worsened by tax cuts, means the cost of interest on the national debt is projected to hit $390 billion next year, about 50 percent more than 2017.
That amounts to hundreds of billions of public dollars not paying for seniors’ health care, education, veterans, infrastructure or any other need. The spending on interest will buy Americans absolutely nothing. It is akin to throwing tax dollars out the window.
Yet the GOP refuses to learn the obvious lesson that tax cuts do not pay for themselves.
Members insist on cementing in place their fiscal irresponsibility for future generations. And it’s not as if these politicians have reduced federal spending. It is up 7 percent so far this year, while revenues have risen only 1 percent.
With the Senate apparently not considering the latest House bills, the legislation amounts to a political stunt. U.S. Reps. Steve King, Rod Blum and David Young were happy to join in the antics and voted to support the legislation. Now all three are busy campaigning for reelection in Iowa. They must think budget-busting will garner support from voters in November.
It shouldn’t.
In fact, Iowans who spot these politicians at events should ask them about their plans for not only balancing the federal budget, but paying for government programs and responsibilities. How is Uncle Sam going to fund everything from the military to farm subsidies if members of Congress have a seemingly endless aversion to collecting revenue?
Poll after poll shows last year’s tax overhaul is not popular with Americans. In fact, it is getting less popular. A June POLITICO/Morning Consult poll found only 37 percent of registered voters support it, down from 44 percent in April. Even among Republicans, support for the law dropped by 10 percent over those two months.
That may well be because people are starting to understand the law is not helping them personally and is further jeopardizing the country’s fiscal future.
But Blum, King and Young don’t seem bothered by voter disapproval. They haven’t been effective at finding ways to pay for programs and services Congress itself promised Americans. They don’t seem to recognize the reality outlined in federal budget projections.
Iowa’s three Republican representatives in the U.S. House care about getting reelected. Perhaps they think fiscal irresponsibility is popular with voters. They’re wrong. And perhaps they also think the money to fund their $174,000 annual salaries grows on trees. They’re wrong about that, too.