OPINION:
$73 trillion over the next 10 years.
That is how much of your money Team Biden wants the federal government to spend. Is that a lot? Well, on an annual basis, it is 66% higher than the average yearly spending over the last 10 years.
Five years ago, the federal government spent just $4 trillion a year. Next fiscal year, Team Biden wants us to spend a shade more than $6 trillion, a 50% increase in five years. That doesn’t count the $6 trillion we’ve already blown on various COVID-related legislation.
Such a staggering sum would be a lethal dose of spending into an American economy that is already cratering under at least 10% annual inflation and heading towards a recession.
Understandably, voters have trouble focusing on federal budgeting. There are a lot of numbers, and the process is specifically designed to make it inaccessible to pretty much everyone except experts. But the truth is that federal spending is where most real decisions are made.
It is also a simple truth that they spend the tax money they take from you. The federal government has no money. There is no such a thing as “federal” spending or “federal” money. There is only taxpayer spending or taxpayer money.
So, voters should have at least a passing idea of how much they are spending and some comparison.
For instance, Team Biden is trying to get many things done in the budget and appropriations process that they have failed to get done through regular order. Their current budget proposal includes a 12% average increase for domestic agencies. This is an addition to the $1.7 trillion already provided to these agencies in the American Rescue Plan.
At the same time, Team Biden has lined up defense spending to take a 4% cut in real spending next year, meaning defense spending would drop to its lowest level as a percentage of the gross domestic product since World War II.
How about deficits and debt? It is hard for many folks to care about debts and deficits, mainly because their effects are not immediately apparent. But public debts are no different than private debts — if you owe someone money, they have control over you. It’s just that simple.
Team Biden’s plan projects a $1.4 trillion average annual deficit until 2032. They have no plan to reduce them anytime in the next 10 years. The result? Total public debt is projected to grow to $45 trillion — a burden borne solely by taxpayers — by 2032.
For a nation, debt also degrades economic growth. The Republicans on the House Budget Committee estimate that the amount of debt contemplated by the proposed budget would result in a drag on the economy equal to a reduced personal income of $9,000 per citizen.
The other terrible thing about the federal budgeting process is the fictional nature of some of the assumptions. This year, the most absurd premise is that inflation, now running at around 8%, will magically shrink to less than 3% annually in the next five years.
A less entertaining part of the process is the clear realization that Team Biden intends to inflict damage on the tax side of the ledger as well. They propose to let the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act expire, thereby increasing taxes — by $2,000 each year — on middle-income families. The expiration of the tax law also would result in a $700 billion windfall for rich people because of the return of the deduction for high state and local taxes.
Finally, the budgeting process is important because it gives a glimpse into an administration’s priorities. Team Biden has proposed $45 billion in new taxes on domestic energy production and billions of spending on environmental justice, electric vehicles and chargers, and other unlamented flotsam of the Green New Deal. There is no spending for a border wall (or “physical barrier” if you’re Sen. Maggie Hassan), nor are there prohibitions on federal funding for sanctuary cities or localities that defund the police.
If you get a chance, you might want to spend a moment reading through the easy-to-follow primer the Republicans on the House Budget Committee have created. After all, it is your money.
• Michael McKenna, a columnist for The Washington Times, is the president of MWR Strategies. He was most recently a deputy assistant to the president and deputy director of the Office of Legislative Affairs at the White House.
For more information, visit The Washington Times COVID-19 resource page.
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