Falling 010713

A current television advertisement features the cries of old people that have fallen and can’t get up.  The problem is real, but the pitch is for a button to push for assistance. 

For the past month the world has been held hostage to the U.S. House of Representatives, who lemming like have been rushing to jump off a fiscal cliff.   At the last moment the Senate crafted stopgap legislation, which merely pushed the cliff a couple of months further away.  American and entwined world economies are still in danger of falling and they have no button to push. 

House Republicans quickly pointed to the President as the cause of their budget failure and growing deficits.  Their accusations are smoke to hide how government is supposed to work.   Article one, Sections seven and eight of the Constitution clearly gives the House responsibility of all government taxation and spending.  The Senate and President may recommend but they can only reject or concur with House budgets.  It is Congress that spends the money while the President tries to stretch the budget to cover expenses.

In the 19th century this worked, sometime not well but it did work.  Sometime in the 20th century the process fell, unable to get up.  The House’s inability to craft a budget on time forced a change in the fiscal year from July to October allowing three more months for budget deliberations.  This merely pushed budget failure back three months.  In the wake of the great depression Presidents began to recommend budgets based on legislation and national needs but the budget remained a House prerogative.  Here lies the problem, Congress has become a career.

The house is elected every two years and reelections depend on bringing pork home.  The one thing bi-partisan in government is pork barrel politics.  Both parties need to spread tons of bacon grease to keep the wheels of government turning and the votes coming in.  This has led to legislation for roads to nowhere, planes that can’t fly and $400 toilet seats built in home districts.  Administrations of both parties have asked for line item veto power to strip some of the fatback from the budget but Congress is addicted to pork.

Over time, through both Democratic and Republican control, budget amendments have created a norm of planning to spend more than revenues.  No politician is going to endanger his or her seat or forgo seeing their names decorating a bridge or government building back home.  For a few billion more they can have a park with a statue.

House radicals immediately declared another budget war on the President, the other party and even their own party’s attempts to craft a budget before the cliff is again within range.  Their declaration puts a thick layer of bacon fat on the edged of the cliff so the nation is sure to slide over.

Since we aren’t going to pay our bills anyway, the administration should spend a few more deficit dollars for a national button to push as we fall off the edge and can’t climb up.  The question is who, from our alienated world, will answer our call for assistance?