How is it that Pelosi and Reid could bind future Congresses to spending $1.5 billion this year on ObamaCare, before it kicks in? Can they only bind future Congresses to spend but not cut?
If this is so, we’d be much better off with no federal government. Belgium hasn’t had a national government for a year and a half and seems to be surviving just fine. Are we that much more inept to govern our states than Belgium?
“How is it that Pelosi and Reid could bind future Congresses to spending $1.5 billion this year on ObamaCare, before it kicks in? Can they only bind future Congresses to spend but not cut?”
A spending bill creates an automatic constituency of people or institutions who will benefit. These beneficiaries hire lobbyists and make political contributions to ensure their largesse. But spending cuts create no such momentum. A cut is an orphan with nobody to look after it. The more money in a spending bill the bigger and more powerful the momentum to protect that money. It takes a HUGE commitment to undo a spending bill and a lot of personal political capital will be expended and futures damaged in the undoing. But a spending cut can be overcome by simply ignoring it. What’s the penalty for ignoring it? Nothing.
works for me! We have too much duplication in Fed/state gov’ts.