Debt Clock Calls For Presidential Veto Pen

First – open your computer’s search service and type www.toptips.com/debtclock. A 30-second look-see is enough to get your attention for today’s lesson in realpolitik.

The web site is the National Debt Clock -- as computed every second. It stood at $6,018,878,452,876.68 at the start of this column. That’s something over $6 trillion.

Don’t linger at the site. The speed at which the speedometer whirls will induce a bad case of the heebie jeebies.

Instead, ponder Congress’ annual game of hocus-pocus with something laughingly called the “National Debt Limit.” Supposedly the law prohibits government spending above $5.95 trillion in the fiscal year ending September 30.

Yet, just a minute ago, we watched the national debt soar above the legal limit faster than we can read the figures. Not to worry. The Treasury Department uses a bit of legerdemain available for coasting while Congress does what it does best – change laws that annoy it.

Treasury simply postpones transferring revenue designated for the Federal Employees Retirement System. Government workers are exempt from the Social Security Trust Fund and have their own, more-lucrative retirement plan.

Federal employees – including Congress members -- pay a bit more into their retirement fund. However, they have the option of designating that their individual contributions be invested in a carefully monitored stock-mutual fund or in government bonds.

Anne Barnhart, chief executive officer for Social Security admits that her own federal pension is full invested in stocks.

Yes, Congress participates in a privatized pension plan rights while denying the same privilege to uenme. STET SPELLING

The Democrat-controlled Senate last week passed, without debate, a bill raising the national debt ceiling to $6.4 trillion. The measure languishes in the Republican-controlled House that is reluctant to bust the budget.

Nevertheless, the House will come around in the next few days because there is no other alternative. The extra money has already been spent. Recent contributions of federal employees are held up and not earning interest for them. Boo hoo.

Congress is wrestling with President Bush’s proposed national budget for Fiscal year 2003 starting Oct. 1.

Despite big increases for the Defense Department to fight the war on terrorism, Bush proposes modest increases for education and a prescription drug plan. He has sent Congress a FY03 budget proposal of $1,075 trillion. This would leave a small surplus.

Senate majority leader Tom Daschle has declared open war on the Bush budget. He says every proposed expenditure is inadequate. He wants at least $100 billion more – plus repeal of Bush’s tax cut last year.

The issue will fester until after the November election. After September 30, Congress will keep the government running at the FY02 level by “continuing resolutions.”

After the election, Congress will scramble to adjust things in accordance with political imperatives. Most likely it will be a guns-and-butter plan that will raise spending and taxes to new levels.

This means heavy raiding of the Social Security trust fund. About 15 years later – as sure as God makes little green apples -- there will be severe cuts in Social Security and Medicare-Medicaid benefits. Or a 50 percent payroll tax. Or both.

With out radical reform now in pension and health programs, Baby Boomers will realize only half of what they now think will be available to them. GenXers will have nothing. Federal, state and local taxes already claim 37 percent of all incomes – personal and corporate.

Historically economies collapse when about 45 percent of national production transfers from workers and risk-takers to non-workers such as lawmakers, bureaucrats, military and welfare.

It is instructive to note that countries which socialized production and government largess – such as Britain, Sweden, France, Germany, Russia, Canada – are decentralizing at a rapid pace. And these spend very little on military defense.

Bush has met the war crisis ably. He will do well to heed the folly of business-as- usual policies that brought down President Lyndon Johnson.

Daschle-style politics is a handicap we cannot tolerate at this time. Bush must wield the veto pen to save us from Congress, and Congress from itself.

PARTING SHOTS

Jesse Jackson has threatened to mount a boycott against Daimler-Chrysler unless it continues doing what it is doing for blacks. There is nothing like a good threat to get results.

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The only value of middle names for children is so they will know when they are really, really in trouble.

Lindsey Williams is a Sun columnist.

williams – debt ceiling

sunday – June 16, 2001

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