Max Borders’ latest Ideas Matter includes some observations about the role of government spending in her current federal budget woes:
[Jeff] Miron is a clear and articulate spokesperson for the view that spending is a problem. It seems odd, perhaps, that anyone would need a Harvard professor to explain something that ordinary people learn when they balance their check books and pay credit card bills each month. But such is life in postmodern America. …
So why is it so hard to cut spending even if some party purportedly committed to smaller government is in power? … The idea is, more or less, to cut spending is for politicians to break a political exchange —campaign contributions for resources and — in some cases — votes for handouts. To get real reforms (i.e., spending cuts), it may take a courageous group of people prepared to commit collective political suicide. In such a case, the calamity will have already arrived. The tough decision will be painfully obvious to everyone. And yet, currently, there are too many incentives to defect for any group of pols to move forward together to cut spending.
If we’re lucky, I’m wrong and the history that gets written will say otherwise.
Click play below to watch the video from Miron that Borders mentions.
