October 31, 1999

Gridlock Restrains Clinton, Congress From Excesses

Three cheers for gridlock!

With Congress and the president double-dog-daring the other to break the 1997 Balanced Budget Act, taxpayers may get a small respite from the record high fiscal year 2000 budget which started ticking a month ago.

The House of Representatives completed the 13th and last appropriation bill on Thursday. The $85 billion measure for labor, health and education programs was rushed over to the Senate which – as this is written -- is expected to agree.

President Clinton has promised a speedy veto before the continuing resolution of last year’s budget expires Tuesday.

Supposedly there is a federal revenue surplus which should enable the president to spend more for education, health care and bonuses for the “working poor” without touching Social Security.

Republicans declare they will put Social Security payroll taxes in a lock box and return the budget surplus to all classes of taxpayers by a tax cut.

Both sides have been equally successful in tagging the other as potential budget-busters. The president skewers Republicans with his veto pen. Congress sends him bills that corner Democrats on their favorite issues.

Consequently, each has abandoned its primary objective and is struggling to find a compromise. This is preferable than the old “shut down the government” game of chicken.

Of course, there is no budget surplus. The $2 trillion Congress borrowed from the Social Security Trust Fund in the 1980s for general expenses remains intact.

Nevertheless, the tax revenue flow is sufficient to give some extra cash for teachers and cops and permit a one-percent across-the-board cut in the record budget mostly approved already.

White House flacks bellow that the Republican proposal for a spending restraint of one penny per dollar would “slash” programs for the poor, homeless, sick, and aged. This demagogic scare worked for Clinton in 1996, but the public – as well as Congressional Republicans – now are wise to the dishonesty.

One-cent cuts, by law, could not be extracted from social “entitlements.” The cuts would have to come from the eight percent of waste, fraud and abuse estimated to be endemic in “discretionary” spending.

If one-percent of saving can not be found by department heads, they should be canned for incompetence. Put janitors in charge and they could cut expenses seven percent with out anybody noticing.

The beautiful thing about gridlock in Washington, D.C. -- providing both political parties continue restraint -- is that revenue surpluses will reduce the national debt automatically.

The national debt as of Oct. 28 was $5.6 trillion. The budget about to be signed into law will push the debt well over $6 trillion. Interest on the debt presently eats one third of government revenues.

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan is generally considered the guru who keeps the American economy humming. He believes paying down the debt is much more important than cutting taxes or reforming Social Security and Medicare.

He told Congress recently that a tax cut would stimulate spending and thereby drive up inflation. Tax cuts should be reserved when the economy slows.

Increasing taxes – Clinton proposes another one on tobacco - - to expand social entitlements would take capital out of the market place, says Greenspan. This would slow investment in employment enterprises.

Greenspan says lowering the national debt would enable the U.S. Treasury to keep former interest payments. These could be used for general purposes. By improving the government’s credit standing, it could – if necessary -- borrow money in the future to pay baby boomer pensions and medical care.

There are a lot of “ifs” in this scenario, but one is inclined to put more trust in private financiers than in popularly-elected politicians.

At least, gridlock has handcuffed political leaders from running ahead of reality. By doing relatively little now, options are left open for bold actions later for an economic crisis or major war.

PARTING SHOTS

Pat Buchanan, Donald Trump and Warren Beatty have given up their former political affiliations in order to run for the Reform Party presidential nomination. Tweedledee, Tweedledum and Tweedledumber.

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The sequined dress worn by Marilyn Monroe when she sang a sexy “Happy Birthday” to President John F. Kennedy, her secret sweetheart, has been sold at auction for $1.26 million. That’s a lot of money for a dress without DNA stain.

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A bevy of super models offer their reproductive eggs for sale on the Internet at $40,000 per. One problem. The eggs have to be fertilized by a man. Chances are he will be homely as a mud fence. Beauty is skin deep, but ugly goes to the bone.

By Lindsey Williams, columnist for Sun Coast Media Group newspapers