I want to thank Lenna Harding for the "Her View" critique (Daily News, Feb. 17) of my call for a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
I am pleased Harding agrees on the need for pay-as-you-go legislation that now requires Congress to pay for new spending programs. We also agree on the need to curb earmarks and add a line item veto to cut wasteful spending. But she questions the wisdom of a balanced budget amendment.
Our areas of agreement are far more important than any disagreement over nuances of how a balanced budget constitutional amendment might be constructed.
I say this because the federal government has a record of mismanaging the taxpayers' pocketbook. Every Idahoan knows you can't keep running up your credit card. If monthly bills exceed your income, you either have to make more money or spend less. Only the federal government continues to ignore this basic rule.
In the past decade, our country has gone from a balanced budget to a crushing, out of control federal deficit. Congress let this happen with unwise taxing and spending policies. Just one administration ago the vice president of the United States famously proclaimed "deficits don't matter" as taxes were cut while we went to war. Not surprisingly, the national debt doubled during the Bush administration. And now under President Obama we are doing even worse.
Even under the rosiest of economic scenarios, the national debt will double again in another eight years. Republicans and Democrats are equally to blame for mortgaging our future.
Today, the national debt and "off balance sheet" unfunded entitlement obligations exceed $200,000 for every man, woman and child in this country. The consequences of this irresponsible approach to budgeting are dire. We are now reliant on foreign countries like China, Japan and the Arab oil states to finance our deficits and hold our debt. These countries are gaining tremendous leverage over our foreign policy decisions. If China were to suddenly sell its holdings, the dollar would collapse, living standards would plunge and the economy would collapse.
The past decade has demonstrated that politicians of neither party can be trusted to be fiscally responsible. That's why we must enact a balanced budget Constitutional amendment. To deal with Harding's legitimate concern about responding to emergencies, the amendment must provide an "escape hatch" available only in case of war, deep recession or other true national emergency. The amendment I and nearly 50 of my conservative Democratic colleagues will shortly introduce would allow the president to waive the balanced budget requirement during such an emergency provided at least 60 percent of both the House and the Senate agree. This would provide the flexibility Harding seeks.
Our children's future is at risk, and it's time to respond.
Deficits do matter.
Walt Minnick is a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Idaho's First District.
