As Grover Norquist’s anti-tax pledge
seems to be losing its force, Jonathan Bydlak at National
Review
argues it was never enough:
Imagine if instead of pledging not to raise taxes, all those
politicians had pledged not to raise spending….That’s why it’s
important to do for spending what Norquist has done for taxes:
create a means for voters to hold elected officials accountable
when they break campaign promises of fiscal responsibility.
…Given our ever-mounting debt, it is incumbent on all of us
who care about the future prosperity of this country to reexamine
the completeness of Norquist’s approach. We have to look at more
than the tax side of the equation.
Fortunately, some in Washington are taking aim at our political
sacred cows. Doug Collins, Representative-elect from Georgia, and
Ted Cruz, Senator-elect from Texas, both pledged to voters this
cycle that they consider all items in the budget eligible for
reduction. By signing the ;Reject the
Debt ;pledge in addition to ;the
taxpayers-protection pledge, they will vote against not only
tax increases now but also spending increases that would amount
to ;future tax burdens.
As one
columnist recently wrote, “From now on, any politician who
signs the anti-tax pledge without also signing the anti-debt pledge
can be dismissed as a complete hypocrite.” The companion to
Norquist’s no-tax pledge is the ;Reject the Debt ;pledge.
Elected officials need to sign both.
Nick Gillespie from last week on
why spending drives deficits. … Read More
