Debt IS A Moral Issue

Gary Bauer, Contributing Author: The Associated Press reports this morning that the deficit for October, the first month of the new fiscal year, was $120 billion. That figure is 22% higher than the October 2011 deficit. And even though tax receipts were up 13% from October 2011, spending was up 16%. This level of spending is unsustainable.

But now that Obama is safely ensconced in the White House for another four years, having once again deceived millions of blue collar workers in states like Ohio, his agenda is becoming clearer by the day. Speaking about the debt and deficit yesterday, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said, "[Obama] does not believe that reducing deficits and debt are values unto themselves." That's obvious!

What about all the talk of a compromise to avoid the fiscal cliff? As I reported yesterday, there is no evidence Obama and the left are willing to compromise at all. The Hill reports that Obama asked for $800 billion in tax hikes over ten years in his discussions with John Boehner last year. Now he's demanding double that -- $1.6 trillion! Obama's press conference this afternoon was aggressive and showed little room for common ground.

Fresh off of his reelection victory, Obama is demanding a pound of flesh from congressional conservatives. If John Boehner and Senate Republicans give it to him, he will demand two pounds next time. And if they refuse, then he and left-wing members of Congress seem willing to go over the fiscal cliff and blame the GOP for the resulting economic damage. Polls suggest Obama has the upper hand.

Some of our friends, such as Larry Kudlow, the Wall Street Journal and even the Romney campaign, have already embraced the concept of having the rich pay more -- not by raising tax rates but by limiting deductions. The largest and most popular deductions are home mortgage interest and charitable donations.

The rumor is that Obama will get his $1.6 trillion by demanding both higher marginal tax rates AND limited deductions. But keep in mind that Obama is spending at least $1 trillion more than the Treasury brings in each and every year. His "plan" is to raise $1.6 trillion over ten years, essentially cutting his deficits by just 16%. That's not much of a solution.

AND DON'T FORGET THIS: If the GOP figures out a way to hold the line against Obama's demands, taxes go up anyway in January, automatically.
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Gary Bauer is is a conservative family values advocate and serves as president of American Values and chairman of the Campaign for Working Families.

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