Cost of Government Day (COGD)
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Title: Spending our way to deficits

Date: July 23, 2003

Source: Steve Barrett, Chattanooga Times Free Press

Words: 224

Isn't it odd that most of the news about federal budget deficits has focused on trying to blame the tax relief that President George W. Bush has championed? After all, the biggest part of the tax relief packages approved by Congress at the president's urging have not taken effect yet. How could deficits be their fault?

The solution to deficits, some politicians and TV, magazine and newspaper reporters suggest, is higher taxes. But Congress has a history of using new tax revenue for new spending -- not reducing deficits and paying off debt.

Americans for Tax Reform has compiled a few facts that help explain budget deficits. The main culprit is runaway spending:

* Spending is rising faster than income growth. This year's projected $400 billion would be only $70 billion if spending had been held to the rate of income growth since 2000.

* Annual increases in spending from 2000 to 2003 are more than triple the amount of annual increases from 1992 to 2000.

* The number of pork projects has risen by about half in the past two years.

* In 2000, the average American had to work 77 days to pay for federal spending. Now he has to work 87 days.

The current deficit is certainly too large. But controlling spending -- not hurting private enterprise by raising taxes -- is the way to cut them down to size.

LOAD-DATE: July 23, 2003