Balance It Now

While Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) has good intentions in proposing a balanced budget by the year 2040, his plan would simply balance the budget too late. The country cannot continue to operate for 29 years by spending more than it brings in.

Yesterday's announcement by Standard & Poor's that it was cutting the United States fiscal outlook from "stable" to "negative," should be a wake up call to Congress and every American that the country cannot continue to operate as it has in the past. Major budget cuts must be made, and tax reforms must be made to provide for growth, and thus a greater collection of tax revenue by the government. The Report is no fan of tax hikes, of course, but we understand that you can collect more tax revenue with lower tax rates and a simpler tax code. Collecting, for example, 35% of $1,000 gives you $350. If you lower that rate to 20%, but increase the amount of money to $2,000, you'll get $400. Earlier this year, we wrote about how even President Obama seems to somewhat understand the concept. Unfortunately, his recent proposal to hike taxes shows that he is allowing the far-left to push him towards making bad decisions for America.

Standard & Poor's downgrade of the United States' fiscal outlook was made, in part, because the firm believed that the United States has a 1-in-3 chance of having its debt rating cut from the top Aaa rating by 2013. This cut would be devastating for economic growth. To prevent such economic damage, it is imperative that Congress take action to pass a balanced budget this year, to take effect in 2012. Starting in 2012, the government must not spend more than it brings in. "Less is more," is the way to achieve the balance -- through less spending, less regulation, and a less complex tax code.