Long Term Economy Top Campaign Issue

To the Editor:

First of all, let me make it clear that I am not a liberal, and am not an economist. I am a staunch anti-abortionist, but am neither a Democrat nor Republican. As a former first responder, I can empathize with poor people, growing up poor myself in a rural area, but also seeing the way that poor people, especially minorities, live in urban areas and their lack of decent housing and basic amenities that most of us enjoy. I also rarely discuss politics with my family and friends, many of whom have their minds made up anyway one way or another. But an article in this past week’s Sunday Houston Chronicle made me want to speak up on an issue that I feel will make an impact on my life as well as my children and grandchildren.

Chris Tomlinson, who is the economic writer for the paper, wrote about the Congressional Budget Office’s report that just came out about our federal deficit. The CBO, a non-partisan arm of the government, last year projected sizeable federal budget deficits and ballooning government debt over the next decade. This was before the COVID-19 pandemic. This year the projection is that we will spend $3 trillion more than our country brings in, beating the previous record of $1.4 trillion in 2009. While much of the deficit is because of the pandemic, the deficit is really the product of two generations of presidents cutting taxes but not the spending. He said that Republican presidents have historically driven up the deficit faster than Democrats, but the American people seem to think that the GOP has better economic policies. His theory is that it is because the GOP policies benefit the personal economies of 50% of Americans, especially those who pay taxes and have retirement accounts. He says (and I have read other economists say the same thing) that while tax cuts leave more money in Americans’ pockets, they never pay for themselves as the fiscal conservatives will claim. In the past, the Federal Reserve has intervened in the debt by cutting interest rates, and the Treasury has just printed more money. Here is where the economists disagree. One side says that printing money will de value cash in comparison to real things, (food, etc) thereby raising inflation, while others say that the debt can rise as long as the debt rises slower than the economy. So what happens when our spending gets to a point of overtaking the economy?

The CBO says we are at that point now. Government debt is now growing faster than the economy, rising from 79% of the GDP last year to 104% this year and projected 107% in 2023. Tomlinson says that our financial mess comes from electing politicians who lie about tax cuts paying for themselves and others too cowardly to raise taxes or cut government programs. While it is true that the last president who had a surplus was Clinton, much of that was due to the elder George Bush falling on his sword for the good of the country by increasing taxes. Bush was also the one who called Reagan’s tax cuts “paying for themselves” voodoo economics. Bush was more concerned about the good of the country than about himself, and that is why I respected him. Trump’s proposal to cut the payroll tax, which finances Social Security, is the latest example. The CBO says that under the current payroll tax rates, Social Security will only be able to pay 75% of the benefits in 2031. Without some intervention, the government will be required, by law, to reduce payments much sooner.

I think that the voters need to wake up and not just think about themselves now, but rather what is best for the country for those who come after us. This is not just a one issue election. There is no perfect candidate just as there is no perfect president. Yes, I think Trump has done some good things, but he has also done some bad, just as every president has in the past. The important thing is to decide for yourself what is most important to you. A lot of rhetoric has been voiced concerning the Black Lives Matter issue, the looters burning down neighborhoods, health care, the ongoing abortion fight, COVID-19, climate change, and other issues on both the right and the left. But for me, the issue that will affect me the most is the economy. So before you go to the polls, think about what issue will have an effect on your life the most, and which candidate will have the most effect on that issue. If you really think about it, I bet that the long term economy will be right at the top of yours. Vote for the candidate(s) who have the future of all Americans at heart, not just for themselves and the here and now.

Richard Hollas High Hill

High Hill