Written by U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler
Read it in the Asheville Citzen-Times
On Jan. 13, 2013, the U.S. will go over what has been referred to as the “fiscal cliff,” when tax cuts expire and $1.2 trillion in automatic mandatory spending cuts take place all at once. Commonly known as sequestration, the cuts were put in place last year as a backstop to force Congress to put a long-term deficit reduction plan into place. Unsurprisingly, Congress has yet to take real action on this issue.
Instead of treating the fiscal cliff as an opportunity to tackle our nation’s fiscal crisis with a long-term, bipartisan plan, Republicans want to score political points by forcing a vote to extend the Bush tax cuts before the election, never mind that the tax cuts do not expire until the end of the year. The GOP plan will add $405 billion to the deficit. Democrats aren't much better—their plan will add $250 billion.
Simply extending expiring policies and repealing the sequester will only exacerbate the problem, adding $7.5 trillion to our already colossal $15 trillion debt. The uncertainty of Congress’ actions may stunt economic growth, add volatility in the markets and force higher interest payments. Most strikingly, this fiscal crisis is entirely avoidable.
I think Americans would find it staggering that Congress is in session just 17 more days until the November election, yet neither party has come forward with a long-term, comprehensive deficit reduction solution. This is why I often complain that members of Congress are in full Emmy nomination mode, working to land the perfect sound bite rather than addressing real problems.
We have two major problems the way I see it — a spending problem and a revenue problem. Revenues over the last three years are lower as a percentage of the economy than they have been since the Korean War, and spending is totally out of control. There is, however, a path forward — the Simpson-Bowles framework. The framework offers a long-term, balanced deficit reduction plan that includes comprehensive reforms — on spending, the tax code and entitlement programs — to responsibly reduce the deficit by $4 trillion dollars. We can achieve much of this through lowering tax rates and broadening the base. I understand that many of my colleagues are hesitant to address the politically risky issue of entitlement reforms, but in order to save them, we must reform them. Scouring out waste, fraud and abuse would be an effective first step. To be successful, Democrats and Republicans must come together, show some guts and make the tough choices our constituents expect and demand.
We have reached this point because leaders in Congress have prioritized savvy politics over sound policy. Our national debt is a problem largely created by Congress that can only be solved by Congress. We will go over the fiscal cliff and throw our economy into a tailspin if Congress does not act soon. There is no question in the minds of the American people that this problem is serious. The question is: When is Congress going to get serious?
Shuler, D-Waynesville, represents North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District in the U.S. House.