Arizona Politics

Schweikert Says The Chance to Pass Balanced Budget Amendment was 'A Dozen Years Ago'

Creating a balanced budget has been a dream of Republicans in an age of heavy spending, but is it still possible? Representative David Schweikert (R-AZ) told Cactus Politics that America's last chance to have a genuinely balanced budget was "a dozen years ago" and offered an in-depth explanation of what drives debt and how budget balancing works.

Rep. Schweikert noted that many politicians run for office on the promise of a balanced budget amendment "if you built enough shock absorbers into it, but the math? We actually missed the window to do it truly and honestly about a dozen years ago."

As Rep. Schweikert explained, the primary driver of sovereign debt is demographics (age-wise). This truth goes unacknowledged because "it is hard getting in front of an audience and explaining it is interest and healthcare, and that healthcare is Medicare."

In other words, as the population ages, they need more healthcare. The government must spend more and more money to pay for those healthcare and retirement programs, yet is not receiving the tax revenue necessary, as the Peter G. Peterson Foundation explained.

Thus, to create a balanced budget, Schweikert continued, "You would actually design it so your first trigger is current borrowing needs to not exceed current growth in the economy. So if the economy expands, so [Gross Domestic Product] expands by $1 trillion, that is your cap. You cannot borrow more than that."

However, the government is currently borrowing $2.50 for every dollar of GDP growth, "And that is what brings down a government. The debt growth continues to expand dramatically faster than the size of your economy," Schweikert concluded.

The Arizona Congressman's comments come on the heels of the House passing an appropriations bill that reduces government spending to some degree, reducing the budgets of the FBI (6%), ATF (7%), and EPA (9.6%).

However, it had detractors among GOP hardliners such as Representatives Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Byron Donalds (R-FL), and Troy Nehls (R-TX).

Grayson Bakich

Florida born and raised, Grayson Bakich is a recent recipient of a Master’s Degree in Political Science at the University of Central Florida. His thesis examined recent trends in political polarization and how this leads into justification of violence.

Recent Posts

Karrin Taylor Robson Criticizes Congress as National Debt Hits $38 Trillion

Karrin Taylor Robson is speaking out about the growing national debt, which just reached a…

20 hours ago

Yassamin Ansari Demands Transparency Regarding White House Ballroom Project

Representative Yassamin Ansari has joined two congressional colleagues in demanding transparency about construction at the…

21 hours ago

Abe Hamadeh Praises FBI Director Kash Patel for Uncovering Massive NBA Gambling Ring

Representative Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ) praised FBI Director Kash Patel for uncovering the massive National Basketball…

22 hours ago

Ruben Gallego Joins Letter Demanding Trump Stick By Not Letting Israel Annex West Bank

Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) signed a recent letter to President Donald Trump urging him to…

23 hours ago

Arizona Families Face Healthcare Crisis as Tax Credits Set to Expire

Local Hispanic business and community leaders gathered in Phoenix on Thursday to urge Arizona's congressional…

23 hours ago

Eli Crane Leads Bipartisan Letter Requesting Federal Water Infrastructure Assistance

Representative Eli Crane (R-AZ) is requesting federal assistance to update the town of Page's water…

2 days ago