Republicans and the Balanced Budget Amendment: Give It a rest

I again heard a Republican,, as I do almost every day, talking about the proposed Balanced Budget Amendment as if it is THE solution to our debt/defict crisis. Yet, it lamost has NOTHING to do with our present debt/deficit crisis. First, no such amendment is going to pass the current Congress, since it requires a 2/3 vote. Second, even if it did pass Congress, it would not take effect in time to do ANYTHING about our current deficit and debt problem. See my articles on this subject over the weekend.


Two thiings bother me about this. First, it smacks of "politics as usual", where Republicans are trying t make POLITICAL points with a FANTASY, because they don't have the GUTS to do something about PRESENT SPENDING. As this blog has stated, and as is true., Republicans in the House have the POWER to STOP SPENDING (without any Democratic help at all). NO spending can occur without the House of Representatives passing a bill. And Republicans control the House. Thus, they have COMPETE POWER to do refuse to apropriate ANY money they do not wish to spend. Sure, they may pay a political price as Democrats "shut down the government" rather than accept the limits Repubilcans place on spending. But this is a matter of COURAGE and POLITICS, not a matter of POWER. The Republicans have the POWER to do whatever they consider to be right on spending, because any spending has to have the approval of both houses of Congress. I wish Republicans would make the point that our system is set up to require a CONSENSUS on spending: that noting be spent unless the spending is approved by both the House land the Senate, and even the President. This SHOULD represent a check on spending, since the system has a built in bias against spending. The OPPOSITE has happened--a bias in FAVOR of spending--because politicians of both parties have developed lthis habit of putting all of this spending in some grand "deal", instead of being accountable for the spending in individual votes.


Yes, that is what bothers me most abut this "balanced budget amendment" talk. It seems designed to conceal "politics as usual", where Republicans use their lack of power to force a balanced budget amendment to CONCEAL their deception on failing to act lwhere they dO have the POWER: namely the power to determine what we spend and what we don't spend.


Message to Republicans: I will still hod you accountable for the sPENDING you AUTHORIZE for this NEXT YEAR, and every subsequent year, and no posturing on things like a balanced budget amendment is going to save you from my wrath (or from the wrath of many who think like me). The government can spedn NO money you don't aruthorize. You say that politically you can't stand the heat of being blamed when the government shuts down? Well, that is YOUR problem. You are the ones saying how important these things are. If they are that important, SOMEONE has to have the GUTS to stand lup and be counted, even if their policial future is damaged. I give NO credit for "effort" on the fantasy of a balanced budget amendment.


P.S. No proofreading or spell checking (bad eyesight).