Trump’s big-government spending plans a repeat of past mistakes

Albert Einstein is accredited with saying that “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” When it comes to the federal budget and America’s unsustainable national debt, Uncle Albert could have been talking about Washington D.C.

Donald Trump has begun making a major push to drum up support for his $1 trillion infrastructure spending spree and a so-called tax reform package in order to boost the economy. Of course, we know from experience that such schemes always fall short of expectations. We need look no further than the past two administrations and the $1.5 trillion in total government spending by Bush and Obama to “save the free market system” and create shovel-ready jobs that weren’t “as shovel-ready as we expected.”

You may have heard that our current national debt is nearly $20 trillion. This amounts to:

• Over $61,000 for every man, woman, and child living in America.
• Over $158,000 for every household in America.
• 106% of the US gross domestic product (GDP).
• 560% of the annual gross federal revenue.

Frightening, but that doesn’t include an additional $70 trillion in unfunded liabilities for Social Security and Medicare. Add that to the scenario, and America’s actual debt is nearly $91 trillion.

So, why isn’t Trump looking for ways to stop the insanity instead of trying to find new ways to spend money we don’t have? Because, like the monsters that dwell in the swamp he promised to drain, he is more concerned with taking care of the status quo in Washington than he is about doing what’s best for America’s future. Trump loves big government, and he has stated how he plans to use his infrastructure spending scheme as a tool to please the Democrats, and his so-called tax reform plan will be designed to please Republicans.

By the way, I use the words “so-called” when referring to Trump’s tax reform plan because even though he’s proposing tax cuts for many Americans, he’s a big fan of the 20% Border Adjustment Tax (BAT) on imports from non-US-based businesses. If tax reform includes the BAT, any reduction in income tax rates will be lost due to the higher prices consumers will have to pay for goods and services.

Congressman Ken Buck (R-CO) calls out-of-control spending a bipartisan problem that few in Washington have the courage to address honestly, and upcoming budget discussions will sadly prove how true that is. Trump’s big-government promises will tickle the ears of the Trump chorus line, but the result will be more of the same budget-busting, big-government, deficit spending we’ve seen in the past.

And as Albert Einstein so perfectly proclaimed . . . that’s not how to solve the problem.

 

David Leach is the owner of The Strident Conservative, your source for opinion that’s politically incorrect and always “right.” His articles are also featured on RedState.com.

His daily radio commentary is nationally syndicated with Salem Radio Network and can be heard on stations across America.