John Stossel
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  • March 12, 2010 12:27 PM UTC by John Stossel

    Fiscal Responsibility is No Fun

    As the Democrats scramble to pass health care legislation, talk still returns to the idea that at least the health care bill is "deficit neutral". That is, while it spends more than a trillion on a new entitlement, it pays for itself mostly by cuts in Medicare. Of course, the doc fix -- scheduled Medicare cuts to doctors which Congress has no intention of making -- will dwarf those savings and add $89 billion to the deficit.

    But leave that aside. Medicare already faces a $30 Trillion deficit. The bigger issue is that Democrats are poised to make cuts in Medicare -- something that is incredibly difficult to do -- but instead of applying those cuts towards Medicare, they are applying it towards a lavish new entitlement program.

    Harvard economist Greg Mankiw sums up the absurdity of this attitude perfectly on his blog. He shows off his professorial side by writing this dialogue between a friend who consistently spends more money than he earns, racking up credit card debt--and you:

    Friend: I am going to take off a few days from work and fly down to Bermuda for a quick vacation.

    You: But isn't that expensive?  Won't that just add to your growing debts?

    Friend: Yes, it is expensive.  But my plan is deficit-neutral.  I have decided to give up that half-caf, extra-shot caramel macchiato I order at Starbucks twice every day.  I really don't need that expensive drink.  And if I give it up for the next three years, it will pay for my Bermuda trip.

    You: Well, then, how are you going to solve the problem of your growing debts?

    Friend: I am going to figure that out as soon as I return from Bermuda.

    You: But in light of your budget problem, maybe you should give up Starbucks and skip the Bermuda vacation.  Giving up Starbucks could be the easiest way to start balancing your budget.

    Friend: You really aren't any fun, are you?

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Syd

Liberalism.. That friend should just use a company card for his trip. Then he'd have as easy a time as legislators worrying about cost.

March 12, 2010 at 6:18 pm

Larry

John if you keep this up people will think you are a Dave Ramsey fan. I hate to say I have lived both ways. It is much more fun not to have debt. I think we can compare this to self medication. "A drowning man wanting a drink of water" Larry S.

March 12, 2010 at 5:08 pm

Matt

I just wrote on my blog about an amazing thing happening in the free market for health care. NPR reported how a Christian organization is able to create an insurance pool that skirts government regulation and covers 14k people amazing. http://talkofliberty.com This is a perfect example of what an unregulated health insurance industry would look like. Amazing how free markets always find a way of delivering regardless of government sabotage.

March 12, 2010 at 3:33 pm
(1 Reply)

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[...] Fiscal Responsibility is No Fun « John Stossel [...]

March 12, 2010 at 2:47 pm

LAD

I disagree with your title. In the long run fiscal responsibility maximizes fun.

March 12, 2010 at 2:38 pm

stevegee

If my wife and I ran our family budget like the federal government, our lives would be in turmoil... We wouldn't have a house anymore because it would have been foreclosed. We couldn't afford cars to drive to work so we'd lose our jobs. We'd be awfully skinny because we couldn't pay for food (I could stand to lose some weight). Our kids would be wearing rags because new clothes would be out of reach. Our retirement fund would have been spent. We'd be living a nightmare, like the U.S.A.

March 12, 2010 at 2:15 pm
(1 Reply)

Charles

Deficit neutrality is a farce, it holds within it no argument of solid merit. The claim that government waste shall be cut to provide the funds to insure its success. Leaving aside the fact that every government program costs the tax payer on an average 3 times as much as originally purposed. The only way to remove the waste of course consists of firing the all the bureaucrats. So we are to believe they will just quit and no new agency will be created? Yes We Can means Mission Accomplished?

March 12, 2010 at 2:07 pm

D Bell

Americans have seen through this scam. That's why there are twice as many who are strongly against the health bill as are strongly for it. Democrats are playing a deeper game. They want socialism. In their view, creating a fiscal crises provides the excuse they need to take over the parts of the economy that they don't already control. The battle here is a real one. It's a fight between freedom, where people make their own choices, and soft tyranny, where the government power elite decide.

March 12, 2010 at 1:48 pm
(1 Reply)

About this Web Site

  • John Stossel joined FOX Business and FOX News in October 2009. His show, Stossel, airs on the Fox Business Network on Thursdays at 9 PM and midnight ET. It re-runs Fridays at 10 p.m., Saturdays at 9 p.m. and 12 midnight, and Sundays at 10 p.m. (all times eastern).

    He is the New York Times best-selling author of Give Me A Break and Myths, Lies and Downright Stupidity. His "Give Me a Break" commentaries take a skeptical look at a wide array of issues, such as education, the economy, parenting, and more.

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