In four hours of debate among Democratic contenders for the U.S. presidency, the word “deficit” was never uttered and the government’s debt was mentioned only once.
The reality is that Democrats are
reluctant to make a campaign issue out of one of America’s most vexing problems
— the ballooning annual budget deficits and overall debt under President Donald
Trump.
That’s because
some of their
most popular policies going into the 2020 election would present significant
budget challenges of their own, including expanding Medicare health coverage
and offering government help to cut college costs and reduce student debt.
While Democrats insist they
have workable plans that will cover the costs of these proposals, Republicans
counter that their tax-the-rich solutions are not realistic.
On their side of the
political divide, Republicans are equally interested in keeping mum on the
subject, having happily backed Trump’s massive tax cuts and a surge in military
spending - two key drivers of the deficit blow-out - after championing fiscal
conservatism for years.
By supporting Trump, many
Republican lawmakers have essentially abandoned an already fading commitment to
balanced budgets and cutting the national debt.
“I don’t think in this
election cycle there seems to be much of an interest in addressing the issue,”
lamented Senator Rob Portman, a former White House budget director.
Portman, a Republican, is
seen as a hawk on government spending, although he was also a strong defender
of the 2017 tax-cut law that will drive up the national debt by at least $1
trillion over 10 years.
- Reuters
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