Washington has a spending problem

Recent letters to the editor, as well as commentary by liberal pundits, have used Republican tax cuts as a favored punching bag, often claiming that tax cuts favor only the rich. It’s just not true.

Liberals love to complain about the corporate tax cuts that reduced rates to a level competitive with other countries. They point out how corporations have used savings to buy back stock rather than just give money to employees. Problem is that wages have actually increased for the first time in years, and the vast majority of people are employed by small businesses and corporations that do not publicly trade stock.

Overall federal revenues are increasing, not decreasing, as they opine.

In the first year that Barack Obama could submit a budget (2009), the Office of Management and Budget reported $2.1 trillion in total federal revenues. In his final year (2016), it was $3.27 trillion, an increase greater than 50 percent. During this same period, the U.S. debt grew twice as fast as revenues, making it clear that we have a spending problem.

Keep in mind, the primary constitutional responsibility of the federal government is the defense of the country and its citizens. Certainly, it can be argued a good portion of the seemingly unfettered spending increases have been due to Middle East military entanglements and increases in federal pay and “entitlements.” Yet that still leaves a significant amount of wasteful spending due to representatives bringing home the proverbial bacon, much of it for programs with zero constitutional authority.

Yes, Virginia, revenue isn’t the issue. We have a spending problem.