“Carol Miller’s GOP is not fiscally responsible”; Caller-Times; 6-25-24

Carol Miller’s GOP is not fiscally responsible

“I’m baffled by this so-called budget that Biden has just presented to us…It really shows the contrast between Republicans and Democrats and what our goals are. Increasing taxes is not one of my goals. This budget imposes nearly $5 trillion dollar in new taxes.”- Rep Carol Miller (R-WV), 3-14-24

Rep. Miller was once on the House Budget Committee and should understand budgetary spread sheets. But she doesn’t. She’s only looking at expenditures, not revenue. That is not good budgeting practice.

Miller and her GOP House colleagues have proposed yet another budget which fails to address the real issue- outrageous tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy. Instead, Miller and the GOP House propose cutting programs helping the most disadvantaged Americans. And vaguely reference other cuts, like cutting out Green New Deal energy programs designed to address the rapidly worsening environmental crisis. 

Per the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office- “The share of total wealth held by families in the top 10 percent of the distribution increased from 63 percent in 1989 to 72 percent in 2019, and the share of total wealth held by families in the top 1 percent of the distribution increased from 27 percent to 34 percent” (https://www.cbo.gov/publication/58533). The GOP national budget proposal will only exacerbate this bipartisan trend. 

I’m a fiscal conservative, but a traditional liberal regarding social issues. That’s a tough fit for both parties. My philosophy was… and still is… to objectively analyze costs and benefits. 

Over a decade ago, I became Chair of the rural Jasper County Georgia Board of Commissioners (BOC) and County Republican Party. I was also the Chair of the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia Tax Committee. Under my watch, the BOC reduced tax increases from 10% per year to 1% annually. Waste was eliminated but essential services were not cut. 

Split 3 Republicans and 2 Democrats, the BOC was divided on many topics. I discovered the key to success was taking politics out of the equation and building consensus. There’s no Republican or Democrat way to pave a road. 

Which gets me back to irresponsible GOP national budget plans which reduce revenues but do not sufficiently account for governmental expenses. During the 2024 primary debates, Governors Haley and DeSantis correctly stated that Trump caused the deficit top rise by $8 trillion (https://www.crfb.org/blogs/how-much-did-president-trump-add-debt ). It is obvious why this occurred. Under President Trump, the GOP slashed taxes, stating that their proposal would pay for itself via greater growth. It clearly did the opposite(https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-tax/fundamentally-flawed-2017-tax-law-largely-leaves-low-and-moderate-income ). 

So, who benefitted? The top 0.1% of income earners obtained about a 3% tax cut, an average of $252,300 each. The lowest fifth received only a negligible $70 cut and the next fifth a paltry $390. 

The best analysis of the GOP current proposal has been done by the non-profit Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-budget/more-revenue-is-required-to-meet-the-nations-commitments-needs-and ). CBPP makes the case that there are 3 reasons we need more revenue- rising Social Security/Medicare costs, “high value investments” (including decreasing poverty and stimulating economic growth) and lowering long out-of-control national debt.

The highly politicized GOP budget plan does the opposite, once again ignoring reality. The proposal targets a goal of $9.3 trillion in cuts… while extending over $3 trillion in tax cuts through FY 2034. These Trump tax cuts were due to expire in 2025. Per the CBPP- “if the Bush tax cuts and their extensions and the 2017 Trump tax cuts had not been enacted, the deficit would be less than half its current size”. 

The current GOP proposal was purposefully vague regarding how to achieve program cuts. However, specifics targeted already hurting low-income Americans, including drastically reducing their healthcare insurance (Medicaid/Medicare). Would a Trump administration propose cutting Medicare and Social Security…or medical research…or the VA (we know what Trump thinks of those “suckers and losers”)?  Or would the deficit simply grow even more rapidly?

The recent introduction of a GOP proposal was a major step. However, once again in the wrong direction. The last balanced budget was achieved by President Bill Clinton working with a GOP Congress. This is the same Congress that impeached Clinton. But they were able to agree that a balanced budget is necessary for the US. It would be wonderful if the GOP stopped playing politics and made a real effort towards fiscal responsibility.