Do Republicans Really Want Trillions in New Deficits?
As Congress ponders a gigantic new budget resolution, supporters of fiscal moderation have gone suspiciously quiet.
Missing the point.
Photographer: Eric Lee/Bloomberg
The budget resolution that narrowly passed the House on Tuesday represents a significant victory for Republican Speaker Mike Johnson and for the president’s fiscal agenda. Whether it’s good for the country is another matter.
As it stands, the House budget plan would allow for up to $4.5 trillion in tax cuts over the next 10 years and calls for perhaps $2 trillion in spending reductions (specifics TBD). The bill now moves to the Senate, which wants even steeper tax cuts, and will be subject to further favor-trading, arm-twisting and (perhaps) the whims of the White House. Whatever legislation results from this process is, on current trends, likely to add trillions in new deficit spending.