NUNNELEE: Obama won’t offer a fair ‘cliff’ plan
My goal for any fiscal cliff agreement is simple: I want to cut spending and stop the tax hike. Raising taxes in order to spend more money, as President Obama has proposed, is the exact opposite of what is needed. His attitude shows that while the cliff is the immediate issue, Washington’s addiction to spending is the larger problem.
The government does not lack revenue. Last year it collected over $2.4 trillion in taxpayer dollars but spent an astonishing $3.5 trillion. In the first two months of the fiscal year that began Oct. 1, revenue was actually up by 10 percent, but spending increased by 16 percent, mainly due to explosive growth in our entitlement programs. We added $292 billion in debt in just two months. Spending growing even faster than revenue is an argument for cutting spending.
The cycle of borrowing and spending outside our means must stop. This is no easy task, in particular because borrowing so much money makes it feel like government costs less than it really does. The only difference between a family and the government is the government can choose to pass the debt on to the next generation. This is morally unacceptable.
Any solution to the fiscal cliff should adhere to the following principles:
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Alan Nunnelee
12/15/12
Magnolia Tribune
