In this morning's Cato Daily Dispatch, the tax debate ends but the surplus debate continues, the Beltway blob continues to grow, the House kills fast UN repayment , and Smith's effort to kill the NEA flops in the Senate.
Governments tend to go through boom and bust cycles.
And then when the expansion ends we go from 7 percent to 2 percent growth. You can make the case these surpluses are a curse because they have been an excuse to break down all semblance of fiscal discipline. The piece notes that even with huge tax cuts passing Congress and after nearly a half-decade of Republican legislative rule, many programs are still expanding. An analysis by the Cato Institute holds that the appropriations process has been marked by a pro-spending trend. Overall, discretionary spending is now lower than it was when Republicans took control of Congress.