Why the State Must Live Within its Means

While Keynesians and any number of control based economists can provide endless reasons to justify government debt, it has proven to be one of the greatest underlying problems undermining the US’s national integrity. Debt has been a contentious national issue, yet no party or politician has been serious about it enough to do anything significant. The benefits of the uphill battle to mitigate debt are far outweighed by the clamors of the people for more benefits and less taxation. The US has constantly been in debt since 1835, and from the looks of it we will not be out of it for decades. The last time we even had a budget surplus was 2001, and the deficit is just greater every year. We must have a radical return to spending below national income if we want to avoid our continued descent into an indebted future. Spending less than it brings in protects the federal government from the potential of debt to balloon. Having a smaller budget also forces the government to pick a smaller set of more important priorities which allows it to utilize its money better. The government living within its means also cuts out many different factors of economic and political uncertainty, and allows for people to thrive.

The moment that a government spends beyond its means forces the question to be asked of how much debt is acceptable. The problem with this question is that it is an extremely ambiguous and open-ended question with real and damaging consequences. The government bureaucrats desire to spend more money means that this question will never be answered fairly and more debt will always be chosen over responsibility. The moment that debt becomes the default, people adjust to the new standard of living and will almost inevitably begin to demand more benefits that can only be attained through debt. The simple rule of living within the means of the revenue derived from taxation makes sure that this negative spiral never begins. People having to live with a lower set of luxuries from the government is a fair price to pay for the countless benefits in economic stability and national security gained from a nation that is not financially dependent.…