The article effectively says that winding down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (a distinction between the two debt reduction plans) is just a matter of accounting.
I would say that those two wars are the primary reasons for the debt ballon. The debt cannot be controlled if we continue them at the current pace.
I wouldn't put it all on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which were placed off budget and no subsequent Congress was willing to bring "on budget".
But, with that caveat, coming out of Iraq and Afghanistan will save some significant coin. And, some restructuring of the Army and Marine Corps, as well as some more limited reductions in the Navy and Air Force (they are the Services with the biggest long lead time problems) will save us billions over the next ten years. And, they will save us mere pennies this Fiscal Year, coming to an end in a little over two months and not a great deal in Fiscal Year 2012, starting on 1 October. The "savings" are all in those mythical out years.
Reducing defense spending will not be enough. Other actions will be needed as well. And, such actions will be controversial, and hard. Some of those actions will rebound onto the tax payers, because while they will reduce taxes (or at least debt and interest payments), they may will eliminate economic incentives that help the tax payers. For example, if we ever get the farm subsidies under control, will it not result in higher food prices? There is still no such thing as a free lunch.
Then, there is the whole question of how to structure Government and Government actions in order to kick off a growth spurt and to sustain that growth.
The article effectively says that winding down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (a distinction between the two debt reduction plans) is just a matter of accounting.
ReplyDeleteI would say that those two wars are the primary reasons for the debt ballon. The debt cannot be controlled if we continue them at the current pace.
I wouldn't put it all on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which were placed off budget and no subsequent Congress was willing to bring "on budget".
ReplyDeleteBut, with that caveat, coming out of Iraq and Afghanistan will save some significant coin. And, some restructuring of the Army and Marine Corps, as well as some more limited reductions in the Navy and Air Force (they are the Services with the biggest long lead time problems) will save us billions over the next ten years. And, they will save us mere pennies this Fiscal Year, coming to an end in a little over two months and not a great deal in Fiscal Year 2012, starting on 1 October. The "savings" are all in those mythical out years.
Reducing defense spending will not be enough. Other actions will be needed as well. And, such actions will be controversial, and hard. Some of those actions will rebound onto the tax payers, because while they will reduce taxes (or at least debt and interest payments), they may will eliminate economic incentives that help the tax payers. For example, if we ever get the farm subsidies under control, will it not result in higher food prices? There is still no such thing as a free lunch.
Then, there is the whole question of how to structure Government and Government actions in order to kick off a growth spurt and to sustain that growth.
Regards — Cliff