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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 11, 1997)
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South College Ave. College Station, TX 77840 409-846-8905 Texas Residents add 8.25% Sales Tax Shipping: $10 2nd T>ay UPS TOTAL The Battalion PINION Monday • August 11,\f Balanced budget does not deliver level thinking, ethic T he president and Congress let a tremendous opportu nity pass when they signed that sham of a budget into law recently. When given the chance to balance the budget and limit the growth of the federal debt, they caved in to the special in terests by presenting a plan which undermines fiscal respon sibility by hiking spending and reducing taxes. The budget deal is a failure insomuch as its acclaimed tax breaks are nullified by substantial increases in spending which guarantee future budgetary overruns. This package certainly deserves pub lic suspicion because of its lofty expecta tions of saving revenue while increasing expenditures by $300 billion over the next five years. It is absolutely absurd to belief that a zero-defict is possible when government expenditures exceed the amount of in coming revenue. Furthermore, the excess government spending will create more severe deficits, because the extra spend ing will exceed the amount of inflation by 2.5 percent. This fact will translate into higher taxes in the future when Congress and the next president are forced to deal with the consequences of this plan. In spite of the necessity of tax cuts, both lay people and economists agree that tax reductions must he accompa nied by even more dramatic spending cuts to offset the revenue shortage caused by the tax cuts. This wiser policy allows the government to relax the tax burden of many Americans while keep ing aims for a balanced budget intact. Unfortunately, this type of frugality and common sense does not appeal to Con gress, as they can see no further than the next election. Certainly this bill reflects the political concerns of its proponents as they try to entice voters and commercial constituents with the perks nestled into the body of the budget plan. • Rather than demonstrate the proper leadership and make the tough calls, Congress decided to have it both ways by increasing spending and reducing taxes sharply over the next five years. Furthermore, Congress seems more in tent on papering over the objectives of fiscal responsibility and fair taxation by placating Americans with a multitude of subsidized goods such as lower capi tal gains taxes and lower corporate tax es. Again these measures may be well deserved, but they fail to accomplish the task of a balanced budget. The real Columnist General Franklin Junior history major balance has nothing to do with finances, but relates to a bal ance between commercial in terests and public interests, which leaves us all content to have sponged just a little more from the government. Many of these proposals may he initially beneficial to the mid dle class. But the budget plan will insure that future genera tions bear the burden of our pre sent lack of financial discretion in the form of large deficits in next century. The reduction in taxes does not count for much, since the damage caused by such cavalier spending will only lead to large future deficits, exerting an upward pres sure on taxes. The low lights of the budget include minimal cuts in Medicare, $95 billion in tax cuts,and another $130 billion in addi tional spending over the next five years. Proponents vow the plan will eliminate the deficit by the year 2002. This goal is virtually unattainable, because the secu rity of the whole plan hinges on the con tinued expansion of the economy. This expansion is not guaranteed and is bound to result in a recession in the near future as we enter the longest period of economic expansion this century. Even if the economy were to avoid overheating, the rate of expansion would taper off, not providing enough revenue to absorb con sistent spending increases and growing inflation. Basically, this budget threatens to reverse the process of narrowing the deficit, since it depends on a sunny eco nomic forecast to breakeven. Perhaps Congress should get the Weatlier Chan nel, because dark clouds of an economic nature loom in the distant horizon. Lost in all the nauseating celebration and grandstanding was the fact that the balanced budget could have been at tained as early as fiscal 1998. The Con gressional Budget Office estimates a $35 billion budget surplus, which could have erased the deficit if accompanied by some modest cuts in military and social spend ing. Instead, the prospect for zero-deficit is fleeting, because this boondoggle will inflate the deficit by $90 billion dollars by 2000. Of course many Americans are rather apathetic about future financial ac tivities because they subscribe to the “show me the money” school of self-in dulgence. Unfortunately, this indulgence will have grave consequences for subse quent generations as they are forced to grapple with a national debt with its inter est alone commanding an ever-increasing it i percentage of the gross national product] Another defect in the budget deal is steady rise in annual spending, from 1.6 trillion in 1998 to 1.9 trillion in2002. If Congress were truly fiscally pru dent, spending would be restrained in favor of a balanced budget. Instead the government endeavors in the double speak of balancing the budget while augmenting government expenditures! a time when they should he reduced. Specifically, no major programs are cut, as Congress appears to be in the mood for bribing the public for its vote in 1998 rather than for enactingsensib fiscal policy. In fact, the bill reallyisa list of perks which line the pocketsofa mult iplicity of special interests.This deal is highly negative, fromnotonlyai economical standpoint, hut also in terms of public confidence in govern ment. When the budget problemsesca- late into crisis early in the next century public trust in government will sinkto new lows, once again duped by the fen good policies of Washington. The government’s commitment to Gsd prudence is dubious, since the budget )u agreement does not impose guidelinesti protect the integrity of future budgets. Congressman loe Barton, Rep. Texas,spt sored an amendment to the proposal which would have limited tax cuts and spending if overall expenditures deviated from tlie balanced budget. Unsurprisingly this thoughtful proposal was roundly re jected by the WhiteFlouse and overwhelm ingly defeated in the I louse ol Representa tives by a vote of 347 to 81. This “balanced" budget isjusta tremendous disappointment, because it lacks the discipline and strength to make any meaningful changes in the national debt and ils evil stepchild, the annual deficit. A truly balanced budget requiresa choice between higher takes or lower spending. Strangely, however the Congres believes the same ends can be achieved^ the opposite means, namely greater spending and lower taxes. Obviouslythest guys were never math majors iftbeybe- lieve that reductions result from increasesP Si In this regard, Congress rejectedthe ® as common sense approach, because peal of tax cuts and government handouts is infinitely more attractive than theim- mense sacrifice necessary for real reform No meaningful progress will be at tained from this or future budgetsunti tiie government and the public under stand that fiscal health depends ofre- straint and sacrifice, not indulgence and self-interest. : bed f e$s he Mail Call Continued from page 5 Religious practices show individualism In response to David Recht’s Au gust 7 column: Do you go to church to wor ship God or to worship the offi cial Methodist Flymnal? If members of Aldersgate Church are worshiping God, then who are you to say that they do not belong to the Methodist denomination? If they feel inspired to dance, what is it to you? And if members prefer to read their songs from an over head projector, why should you care, because I don’t think God does. Stay in the confines of your own safe, stead rituals if you don’t like the practices of oth ers. But don’t venture too far from home — you’re bound to be disappointed. Ginger Freiling Class of ’98 Mltehjcteviii __j kbjj he! 1'ufl I he | *4; 1 I PART-TIME POSITIONS Universal Computer Systems, Inc. is looking for candidates for the following positions at our College Station office.Operating hours of the facility are 6a.m.-10p.m., Monday through Friday and 8a.m.-10p.m. Saturday. Candidates must be able to work at least 15 hours Monday-Friday & every other Saturday and have completed at least one semester of college. • Parts Inventory • Support Staff • Data Entry • Technician Trainee • Cleaning and Reclamation To apply, call our Personnel Headquarters Universal Computer Systems, Inc. 1-800-883-3031 http://www.ucs-systems.com E.O.E. UCS hires non-tobacco users only. r. -V XJ MSC Barber Shop Serving All Aggies! Cuts and Styles All Corp Cuts $7. Regular cuts start at $8. 846-0629 1 $te| Open: Mon. - Fri. 8-5 Located in the basement of the Memorial Student Center NEW! Local Radio News from the newsroom of Batialion campus and community"^ 8:04 a.m. Monday through Friday during NPR Morning Edit 10 " ' >!e 'h