Staff Reports
President Biden’s latest fiscal revelation is about as uplifting as a lead balloon. His administration’s “Mid-Session Review” reveals that taxpayers will be bailing out a stunning $1.87 trillion deficit in 2024. By year’s end, the national debt is projected to skyrocket to an astronomical $37 trillion. This joyous announcement came just a week after the 50th birthday of the Control Budget and Impoundment Act, a landmark law penned back in the Nixon era aimed at reining in Congress’s runaway spending. If Nixon could only see what has become of his noble intentions, he’d likely shed a tear—or launch an epic response from his grave.
The 1974 legislation was intended to impose a modicum of fiscal sanity on Capitol Hill by establishing a systematic approach for federal budgeting. Nixon, back when bipartisanship was a thing (remember that concept?), touted the act for making Congress take serious responsibility for its financial shenanigans. For years, Congress was able to cruise by with spending bills and no overarching strategy for fiscal accountability. In a world filled with red ink, the 1974 act sought to change that by setting guidelines for when budgets should be submitted, reviewed, and approved. However, much like many New Year resolutions, it didn’t take long for lawmakers to break their commitment to financial discipline.
Washington Examiner: A happy 50th birthday for the congressional budget process https://t.co/AHNHIOwJn8
— Ian’s Newsfeed 🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@IanHNewsFeed) August 9, 2024
Sadly, the shine wore off this revered act faster than a cheap paint job, as subsequent presidents and Congresses took to treating their budgets less like serious proposals and more like theater performances. Budgets became platforms for partisan posturing rather than genuine fiscal planning. The Biden administration, particularly noted for its Inflation Reduction Act—which has only managed to inflate budgets—used budget reconciliation as a shortcut to ram through unpopular policies. One can almost hear the founding fathers groaning from the beyond at the sight of such fiscal recklessness.
It seems Congress has embraced fantasy budgeting as the norm. Instead of adhering to realistic numbers, various congresses have favored fairy-tale assumptions that turn deficits into something that “won’t matter” until much later. With the likes of former Rep. David Obey lamenting in 1982 that the only kind of budget resolutions they could pass were those that lied, one must wonder what’s taken present-day legislatures so long to catch on to this defunct tradition. If only Congress could muster the same enthusiasm for fiscal responsibility as they do for helping themselves to the taxpayers’ wallets.
The last time a bipartisan budget that was credibly followed materialized was back in 1997 when Bill Clinton shared a moment of fiscal clarity with a Republican-led Congress, resulting in a rare surplus. Fast-forward to today, and we find ourselves mired in failure. The House has passed a mere five out of twelve appropriations bills, while the Senate hasn’t even bothered. The two chambers are now out of session until early September—just in time for them to devise even more extravagant spending plans upon their return.
As citizens grasp the unpleasant reality of their fiscal future, concern runs rampant among the populace. A staggering 77% of Americans are understandably anxious about the ever-ballooning national debt. They realize they’re shackled to this financial mess, and for what? The irresponsibility rampant on Capitol Hill seems to resonate with a culture that has all but abandoned the idea of a balanced budget. In the grand scheme of things, there seems to be little hope for reform, especially when the process itself is being systematically undermined by those tasked with keeping spending in check. A serious re-evaluation of priorities—or perhaps just a dose of adult supervision—is urgently needed to avoid sinking deeper into this fiscal abyss.
