A Hard Road Toward a Better Budget

Congress and the president have been wringing their collective hands and crying out in fear about the upcoming sequestration and tax increases.  But I can't help but wonder if some of their concern is just for show.  Surely, some of those in power harbor the belief that the combination one-two punch of forced cuts and increased taxes might be the only way to move toward a balanced federal budget.

Because congress members could not agree on what surgical cuts to make in the bloated federal budget, they broke out the hatchet. Sequestration, set to kick in on January 1, 2013, will basically amount to across-the-board cuts, including some in defense. The estimated total of savings is believed to be around $1 trillion over a decade. This is definitely a good start, but hardly the silver bullet that will end US budget woes. The federal budget is hemorrhaging about $1 trillion per year.

However, if congress doesn't act before January 1, the Bush tax cuts will also expire. The US will return to the tax rates of the Clinton era, the last time this country had a balanced budget. Combined with the sequestration cuts, we might actually see something resembling a balanced budget again.

Yes, I realize that these possibilities could harm the economy in the short term. But, in the long term, a balanced federal budget could only be good for our economy and our country.

Maybe - just maybe - congress and the president should let the coming sequestration and tax increases take place. By sitting back and doing nothing, they might just be doing the best thing for our country.