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Congress Celebrates Groundhog Day Again with Shutdown Deal

Writing for the Washington Examiner, Professors Brian Brenberg and Jared Pincin of The King’s College critique Congress for once again putting off necessary reforms that would address the federal debt. They argue that, in order to avoid more “Groundhog Days” in the future, Congress should only agree to spend money when it has first agreed on how to pay for it.

Unfortunately, the process is unlikely to change as politicians have an incentive to please voters by making big promises in the present, while neglecting the future.

Today’s policymakers don’t seem particularly concerned about this multitrillion dollar shortfall because they’ll be out of office long before the bill comes due.

Enacting new spending only after deciding how the spending will be paid for is a better way forward. Fiscal responsibility requires difficult choices and the current debt limit debate provides an opportunity to find a long-term solution instead of another short-term patch.

Linking spending and funding decisions would get us out of the cycle. One Groundhog Day is enough.

Read the rest of the article here.