Friday, May 4, 2012

SPIN METER: Lawmakers' talk of cuts is just talk

Ross Perot used to talk about government buying votes with your money. That's what it's all about. And that is why members of Congress get re-elected perpetually:

If there's one thing Republicans and Democrats in Washington say they agree on, it's the need to reduce federal spending. And it's something they almost never do, as recent events have proved again.

[...]And so it goes, program by program, year after year, no matter which party controls the White House or Congress.

Lawmakers talk in grand, abstract terms of cutting vast sums from the budget. Even Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, whose Democratic Party traditionally is less fretful about spending than is the GOP, has proposed a whopping $1.2 trillion cut in discretionary spending.

But when given the chance to actually cut a few billion dollars from a particular program, lawmakers routinely bow to ardent defenders, and their lobbyists, and pull back. When these lawmakers get re-elected, term after term, the lesson to aspiring politicians is clear.

No comments: