The Deal Is Done
This time of the year can often be very magical. A bit of a mini miracle occurred this year, however. Congress did its job and got a deal on the budget.
A deal on the federal budget shouldn't be something to be happy about. It's not because a deal is necessarily a bad thing, but because by the definition of our nation a deal should be the norm. In a democratic state there will naturally by an opposition party, and by the fact they are the opposition they will not agree on everything the party in power wants. As a result when it comes to something as basic and fundamental as funding the activities of the government a deal is supposed to be as basic as breathing.
But thousands of children are born every day, yet we still view them as miracles. I wouldn't put a budget deal like the one Congress achieved on the level of the birth of a new life, but seeing as how the once basic and common practice of striking a deal on a budget hasn't taken place since sometime in 2009, and after enduring threat after threat of a government shutdown, not to mention actually suffering through one, one could easily be forgiven for thinking that it would be otherwise impossible that Congress would reach a real budget in any foreseeable future.
There is much to be desired in this budget. It fails to extend unemployment insurance, it has some cuts to programs that don't need any more cutting, and it doesn't replace the idiocy that was the sequester.
It's not all bad, however. I am essentially a Keynesian theorist. During times of economic distress public spending decreases and the gears of the economy slows. At such times the government is supposed to step in to pick up the slack - measures like expanding unemployment insurance, or increasing federal loans, grants, and subsidies. Then, when recovery takes place the government pulls back on its spending and lets a more idealist free market routine return.
Beyond that, there is the basic fact that you don't decide on how to budget after you already spent all your money. You will inherently make bad decisions when doing such a thing at a macro level, where long-term forecasts are both less reliable and more important. Furthermore, the ability for the private sector to pick up the slack from the pullback of the government just isn't there when there unless the the economy as a while is driving forward at a decent enough clip.
So, while they put off once more the biggest issues like tax reform and entitlement reform, it's alright for now. The economy still has some recovering yet to do before we can be comfortable letting it run without a strong helping hand. In the meantime we should be focused on making that happen, and preventing another disaster.
So, it's not perfect. But its a deal on a budget. We actually got one, even if it's fairly close to being about as minimalist a deal possible. But, let's not look a gift horse in the mouth. Instead, hopefully this will be a step closer to a return to normalcy. Would that not be a real Christmas miracle?
A deal on the federal budget shouldn't be something to be happy about. It's not because a deal is necessarily a bad thing, but because by the definition of our nation a deal should be the norm. In a democratic state there will naturally by an opposition party, and by the fact they are the opposition they will not agree on everything the party in power wants. As a result when it comes to something as basic and fundamental as funding the activities of the government a deal is supposed to be as basic as breathing.
But thousands of children are born every day, yet we still view them as miracles. I wouldn't put a budget deal like the one Congress achieved on the level of the birth of a new life, but seeing as how the once basic and common practice of striking a deal on a budget hasn't taken place since sometime in 2009, and after enduring threat after threat of a government shutdown, not to mention actually suffering through one, one could easily be forgiven for thinking that it would be otherwise impossible that Congress would reach a real budget in any foreseeable future.
There is much to be desired in this budget. It fails to extend unemployment insurance, it has some cuts to programs that don't need any more cutting, and it doesn't replace the idiocy that was the sequester.
It's not all bad, however. I am essentially a Keynesian theorist. During times of economic distress public spending decreases and the gears of the economy slows. At such times the government is supposed to step in to pick up the slack - measures like expanding unemployment insurance, or increasing federal loans, grants, and subsidies. Then, when recovery takes place the government pulls back on its spending and lets a more idealist free market routine return.
Beyond that, there is the basic fact that you don't decide on how to budget after you already spent all your money. You will inherently make bad decisions when doing such a thing at a macro level, where long-term forecasts are both less reliable and more important. Furthermore, the ability for the private sector to pick up the slack from the pullback of the government just isn't there when there unless the the economy as a while is driving forward at a decent enough clip.
So, while they put off once more the biggest issues like tax reform and entitlement reform, it's alright for now. The economy still has some recovering yet to do before we can be comfortable letting it run without a strong helping hand. In the meantime we should be focused on making that happen, and preventing another disaster.
So, it's not perfect. But its a deal on a budget. We actually got one, even if it's fairly close to being about as minimalist a deal possible. But, let's not look a gift horse in the mouth. Instead, hopefully this will be a step closer to a return to normalcy. Would that not be a real Christmas miracle?
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