Many are quick to blame tax cuts for the nation’s financial trouble, but we know that this is not the case.

During the government shutdown, with the exception of hearing how it affected some federal workers, the government went on functioning like nothing happened because so much of it is funded by auto-pilot spending.

The United States spends money like a drunken sailor even with a blind fold and both hands tied behind his back.

And instead of blaming the irresponsible use of tax payer money and risky borrowing, some are inclined to blame the voters who don’t like being taxed. Following the Great Recession, we were lectured on how the Bush tax cuts were to blame for the economy tanking.

On the most foundational level, it can be argued that tax cuts are never to blame because the government has no inherent right to the earnings of the people. The government cannot give tax cuts, they simple refrain from taking money that isn’t theirs. But if you don’t accept that philosophical premise, then we must look at the data.

To that end, the Congressional Budget Office issued a report on the nation’s governmental economy over the next decade.

The Washington Examiner summarized the findings.

“A new report from the Congressional Budget Office makes it abundantly clear that historically high spending is what’s driving the massive growth in deficits over the next decade — not the tax cuts that President Trump signed into law in 2017.

As shown in the chart below, in the 50 years prior to the effective date of the Trump tax cuts (1968-2017), tax revenue averaged 17.4 percent of gross domestic product, while spending averaged 20.3 percent. With the Trump tax cuts in place, revenue is below the historical average for the next few years, but by the middle of the decade, it returns to that average and then surpasses it as some provisions of the tax cut begin to expire. By 2029, the end of the CBO projection period, revenue reaches 18.3 percent — or nearly one point of GDP above its historical average.

In contrast, spending will exceed its historical average in every year through the next decade, hitting 22.7 percent by 2029. Even if taxes were to return to their record level of 20 percent (achieved in 2000), the nation would still be running a deficit every year over the next decade.”

These trends suggest that one of two solutions is needed to address the nation’s debt problem. We can either cut spending or raise taxes beyond what they have ever been historically. As some on the left surely want to tax the wealthy, we have to remember that doing so dries up capital. The only solution that is feasible is drastically slashing the size of government. And it’s the only solution that would achieve anything. Raising taxes would not ensure that federal spending remains at current levels. With more revenue, a democratic congress would be inclined to spend more, assuming they control other branches of government in the near future.

When we look at the debt clock, we see that entitlements are the main drivers of national debt. It is shocking that these programs have grown to be such a liability for the nation that our fiscal well-being is being harmed by seemingly well-intentioned programs. Take a look for yourself…

http://www.usdebtclock.org/

The left will pitch a fit before they ever let the GOP touch entitlements, but even they should know that current spending is unsustainable. If anyone wants to keep these programs around, they have to understand the reforms are needed because it will collapse under its own weight in the near future.

And the Paul Ryans of the world wax poetically about reforming entitlements yet support other policies that preclude that from happening and actively compound federal spending in other ways.

We get crocodile tears from democrats who fear the national debt only when it supports their opposition to policies like defense spending and the wall. Republicans fail to see certain expenditures as investments that would eventually reduce federal spending. And everyone else is content to kick the can down the road.

The federal government has to slim down.