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Forbes had an interesting article in May criticizing tea party protesters. The article's premise is that the tea party protesters are mostly Republicans, and did nothing to complain about the huge deficits of the Bush era:
According to the Financial Report of the United States Government, the federal government's total indebtedness rose by $36 trillion under Bush--to $56.4 trillion in 2008 from $20.4 trillion in 2000.
Moreover, massive current and future deficits would have occurred even if Bush had been elected to a third term. That is because they were baked in the cake by legislation already on the books the day Obama was inaugurated. The biggest driver of future deficits is not today's stimulus spending, but entitlement programs like Medicare.
The article seems to assume that only Republicans want balanced budgets. But polls show there are plenty of Democrats and independents who want the same thing. A recent survey commissioned this year by Americans for a Balanced Budget Amendment showed that 65% of Americans support a balanced budget amendment. A 2003 survey showed that Democrats actually support (69% support) a balanced budget amendment at a higher rate than independents (66% support) and Republicans (61% support).
This is why balanced budgets were achieved during the Clinton presidency: because Democrats (President Clinton) and Republicans (Newt Gingrich and the other Republicans elected on the Contract with America platform) worked together to achieve something the rank and file of both parties wanted. We are not affiliated with the tea party protest groups or any other political party, because we believe the only way we can achieve similar results is by transcending political parties and ideologies. Of course, we invite the participation of all the tea party protesters, but we don't believe we can get anything done unless our movement has broader appeal—we invite everyone: Democrats, Republicans and independents to participate. Our objectives are limited enough that you can all comfortably be a part of FixitTogether.org.
The Forbes article goes on to criticize using a Balanced Budget Amendment as a solution because it “would not be self-enforcing.” Our proposed amendment, however, has three mechanisms to make it self-enforcing:
1. In every year where there is a budget deficit, the President is given the line-item veto to strike out items of spending
2. In every year where Congress votes to spend more than it takes in, the salary of all members of the House and Senate is reduced by half.
3. It prevents Congress from simply taxing its way out of the problem without receiving the public's approval, by requiring that no increase in taxes take effect until there has been an intervening election and the next session of Congress also votes to increase taxes.
Our proposed balanced budget amendment addresses the criticisms some people have made about such amendment proposals, and we believe it could have a positive and meaningful impact on our country's future.
Tags: Balanced Budget Amendment
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