Thursday, August 23, 2007

Spreading the Blame Around

A pessimistic budget forecast by the Congressional Budget Office for years following the current one caused House Minority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MA) to declare that "Republican policies have created deficits as far as the eye can see."

The Oracle has roundly criticized the Bush administration and congressional Republican leadership over much of the last eight years for their disavowal of principles and lack of restraint on spending. That being said, Rep. Hoyer's accusation is largely untrue. The primary reason for the future worsening budget picture, according to the CBO report, has to do with "rising healthcare costs and the nation’s expanding elderly population." That spending derives from entitlements that have been place for decades, and when Republicans attempted to address, albeit weakly, Democrats demurred, denied, and demagogued.

The federal government will soon reach a period of fiscal crisis created by these entitlements, and both parties will be partly to blame.

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