by Ed Finn

Created on: September 30, 2008

Congressional Spending

I have to admit that I sometimes wonder how certain people can sleep at night. My lovely wife just forwarded me an email she received a while ago that talked about all of the federal government deficits in the last 28 years. While I am sure this person means well and wants to help to educate those around them. It is imperative when one wants to educate someone that they are in possession of some factual information.

With the exception of being able to veto bills, the President only has the authority to "suggest" a budget to the Congress. It is the Congress who has the constitutional authority to regulate and control the purse of government. Too many individuals want to give credit and assign blame to the President for financial successes and difficulties. A President can have some marginal effect by setting the tone, negotiating and/or brokering deals or using the bully pulpit to affect some measure of change. However, when it comes to the actual passing of legislation, the credit or blame rests primarily with the United States Congress.

This having been said, let us take a look at the recent history of deficits and surpluses. I do not want to get mired in the numerical minutia that seems to plague our politics today. Instead, let's just look at what happened in each of these administrations from a congressional point of view. When Ronald Reagan entered office, he had a Democratic Congress. He suggested steep tax reductions due to the Carter price control (which was actually an effect the President can have) culture. President Reagan also recommended deep reductions in spending. The Congress acted and cut the taxes. Unfortunately, they did not cut spending.

The cut in taxes increased revenue to the treasury substantially. Decreasing taxes caused more investments, business startups, and job creation. This in turn widened the tax base and brought more money into the federal government. However, was this money applied to the national debt or to eliminate the deficit? Of course not, it was spent and then some by the Congress. The Congress is at fault for the deficits and the continuation and adding of debt.

The first President Bush also had to deal with a spendthrift Congress. His largest mistake was to accept and sign tax increases, which lead to the slowing of the economy and ended up costing him the election. However, once again, the Congress has all of the power in this situation. And yet, those who want to distort and misdirect try to

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