Their kick-the-can-down-the-road approach is a recipe for fiscal chaos in the future. The result would be either massive tax increases, massive debt increases, or massive money printing.
But I have wondered whether congressional Republicans would take the same head-in-the-sand approach.
Fortunately, it appears many of them have – as I noted in the above interview – a more patriotic perspective. Andrew Biggs of the American Enterprise Institute wrote about a new budget proposal from the House Republican Study Committee. Here are some excerpts.
To the RSC’s credit – and, honestly, to my own surprise – the RSC took on the dangerous issue of reforming Social Security, standing up not only to Democrats looking to demagogue the issue but to former President Trump’s efforts to duck the issue. The RSC’s proposals “include modest and delayed changes to the Primary Insurance Amount PIA) benefit formula, the retirement age, auxiliary benefits for high income earners, and gradually moving towards a flat benefit.” If you don’t want the biggest tax increase in history, those are the sorts of things you have to do. …cheers for the RSC: They’ve stood up to Congressional Democrats by at least putting a plan on the table. And, more importantly, they’ve stood up to Donald Trump’s position that Social Security reform can be ignored or hand-waved away.
If you want to learn more about the Republican Study Committee’s plan, click here and here.
Dan Mitchell is co-founder of the Center for Freedom and Prosperity and Chairman of the Board. He is an expert in international tax competition and supply-side tax policy.
