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Part 8: Epilogue
The debate over tax policy is only going to grow more contentious over time. Our
current fiscal situation, as observers have noted, is unsustainable over the long run. The
revenue shortfall created by the tax cuts have contributed significantly to the return of
record annual budget deficits that have added trillions to our national debt. This fiscal
crisis makes it a foregone conclusion that, at some point, either taxes must be increased
or government programs will suffer enormous cuts. Either option will place a
disproportionate amount of the burden on lower income earners. This is especially unfair
since the beneficiaries of the tax cuts are overwhelmingly affluent Americans.
Contrary to political rhetoric, the tax cuts have not delivered the level of
economic relief promised. The economic stimulus that the tax cuts have provided is tepid
at best. The tax cuts have created a fiscal crisis that will hinder future economic growth
and leave millions of Americans worse off financially than they were before the tax cuts.
Yet, despite the lack of economic stimulus and the negative effects of the tax cuts, the
administration refuses to reverse course. Instead, the President insists that Congress
make the cuts permanent. The flawed assumptions used to justify the tax cuts remain.
These assumptions have been compounded by political advisors and bureaucrats with
their own ideological agendas.
How can voters force our Congressional and Executive leaders to act more
responsibly in developing fiscal policy? In the late 90s, many Republican leaders in
Congress wanted to pass a Constitutional Amendment requiring the federal government
to balance the budget. It should be noted that the leaders who were pushing for this
amendment, such as Tom DeLay, are now the very ones endangering our nation’s
Convention