ON PAPER BUT OUT OF THE ORATORY?
July 9th, 2008, 10:08 am · Post a Comment · posted by Dan Lehr
We appear to have a discrepancy between what McCain has on paper in his economic plan & what he says on the stump.
His plan (see link above) says this:
Bring The Budget To Balance By 2013
John McCain will balance the budget by the end of his first term. The near-term path to balance is built on three principles:
• Reasonable economic growth. Growth is an imperative – historically the greatest success in reducing deficits (late 1980s; late 1990s) took place in the context of economic growth.
• Comprehensive spending controls. Bringing the budget to balance will require across-the-board scrutiny of spending and making tough choices on new spending proposals.
• Bi-partisanship in budget efforts. Much as the late 1990s witnessed bipartisan efforts to put the fiscal house in order, bi-partisan efforts will be the key to undoing the recent spending binge.
In the long-term, the only way to keep the budget balanced is successful reform of the large spending ressures in Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
But verbal calls for a balanced budget has been noticeably absent, as Mike Allen of Politico pointed out on C-SPAN recently:
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Read through his most recent speech on the topic here, in which he only says
“We must also get government’s fiscal house in order. American workers and families pay their bills and balance their budgets, and I will demand the same of the government. A government that spends wisely and balances its budget is a catalyst for economic growth and the creation of good and secure jobs.”
Note the absence of a pledge or timetable. Could it be he’s trying to avoid the fate of a former GOP president?
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Let’s keep an eye on this, shall we?
What do you think?
