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Townhall...
Continuing Stubborn
Ignorance
By Walter E. Williams
Within the past decade, I’ve written three columns titled “Deception
101,” “Stubborn Ignorance,” and “Exploiting Public Ignorance,” all
explaining which branch of the federal government has taxing and
spending authority. How can academics, politicians, news media people
and ordinary citizens get away with statements such as “Reagan’s budget
deficits,” “Clinton’s budget surplus,” “Bush’s budget deficits and tax
cuts” or “Obama’s tax increases”? Which branch of government has taxing
and spending authority is not a matter of rocket science, but people
continue to make these statements. The only explanation that I come up
with is incurable ignorance, willful deception or just plain stupidity;
if there’s another answer, I would like to hear it.
Let’s look at the facts. Article I, Section 7 of the U.S. Constitution
reads: “All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of
Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments
as on other Bills.” Our Constitution grants the president absolutely no
authority to raise or lower taxes. The president is permitted to
propose tax measures or veto them. Congress can ignore proposals and
override vetoes.
The Constitution grants Congress the final and ultimate say on taxes.
The same principle applies to spending. A president cannot spend one
dime that Congress does not first appropriate. Therefore, statements
such as “Under Barack Obama, government spending has increased 21
percent,” and “Under Barack Obama, welfare spending has increased 54
percent” are just plain nonsense, if they are suggesting that Obama has
increased spending. Credit or blame, whether it’s a balance budget,
budget surplus, budget deficit or national debt, lies with the U.S.
Congress.
Knowing where constitutional authority for taxing and spending is vital
to our nation. No matter how we feel about President Obama, if we buy
into the notion that it’s he who’s doing the taxing and spending,
adding to our debt and deficits, we will focus our attention on trying
to restrain the president. That will leave Congress less politically
culpable for our deepening quagmire. Of course, if you’re a
congressman, not being held accountable is what you want.
Adding to the political deception in Washington is the notion that
nearly 60 percent of the federal budget is off limits for spending
cuts, the so-called non-discretionary spending such as Social Security,
Medicare and Medicaid. Congress has the constitutional authority,
through a simple majority vote, to change whatever laws associated with
those “nondiscretionary” spending programs.
As an example, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Flemming vs. Nestor
(1960) there are no “accrued property rights” to a Social Security
check. That means Congress can do anything it wishes with Social
Security and that includes means-testing payments, raising eligibility
age, reducing payments, increasing “contributions” or eliminate the
program altogether. The same applies to any of the other so-called
non-discretionary spending programs.
By the way, thinking about the looming Social Security disaster, I
believe that a person who’s 65 years old and has been forced into
Social Security is owed something. But who owes it to him? Congress has
spent every penny of what he put into Social Security. Any check he
receives comes out of the hide of young workers in the labor force. I
think that’s unfair. The young worker has no obligation to that senior
citizen, but Congress has.
I have a one-time fix to give us some breathing room to make reforms.
The federal government has huge quantities of wasting assets -- assets
that are not producing anything, 650 million acres of land -- almost 30
percent of the land area of the United States. It owns 80 percent of
the land in Nevada, 70 percent in Alaska, 60 percent in Idaho and 50
percent in California and Oregon. I would be willing, and I suspect
many others, to make a deal with Congress whereby I forsake all Social
Security and Medicare benefits for, say, 50 acres of land in Alaska.
Read it at Townhall
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