Someone else should be in charge

Someone else should be in charge

Congress is planning to spend over a trillion dollars in fiscal 2014 even though two years ago they passed a law to cap spend at $967 billion as part of the debt ceiling settlement. The Budget Control Act of August 2011 established sequester spending caps including capping 2014 spending at $967 billion yet they are about to authorize 4 percent more.

Congress is using smoke and mirrors disputing the continuing resolution spending bill, Obamacare defunding shenanigans and the government shut down. Democrats and Republicans are actually distracting the media and voters from the “meat” of the pending 2014 budget.

Let’s say your family is experiencing financial difficulties. You are in debt over your head with family income of $60,000. Would you plan to spend $62,400 adding another $2,400 to your overwhelming debt? You might if you are planning to default on your debt or naively think you will win the lottery.

That is what Congress is doing. The GOP House has already agreed to exceed the sequester cap by $19 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal. The Democratic Senate is planning to exceed the cap even further allegedly saving $18 billion.

What the Senate is really doing is playing a budget shell game shifting $18 billion of mandatory program spending into future years. How can they do that? Just use liberal assumptions on the timing of mandatory program expenditures.

Congress is about to budget $1.004 trillion in spending or $37 billion over the cap. Democrats and Republicans are planning to override their law and do what they do best, spend beyond our means. In time we will face another debt downgrade, higher taxes and austerity.

Would you run your household budget that way? Isn’t it about time we put someone else in charge in Washington before America goes broke?

Mike Tennis

Sleepy Hollow