BY JEFFREY A. MIRON – As Democrats and Republicans debate the U.S. debt situation, both sides seem more concerned about pandering to their respective bases than reining in the debt. Worse, much of the discussion addresses only the debt per se, not the broader question of what policies are good for the economy. These conditions are likely to yield only cosmetic fixes, some of which will make things worse over the long haul.
Congress and President Obama should consider the following 10 principles and guidelines for avoiding that outcome.
The debt problem is substantial and pressing:Â Congressional Budget Office projections show America’s debt is exploding. Expenditures are growing much faster than the gross domestic product and tax revenues possibly could. Under the CBO’s most plausible projections, the debt would reach 109 percent of GDP by 2023, and 190 percent of GDP by 2035. This is not a problem we can ignore or address with minor adjustments.
The federal budget includes numerous programs that ought to be eliminated regardless of the deficit.
Raising tax rates is a bad idea:Â By reducing the income of households and the profits of businesses, higher tax rates discourage consumption and investment, slowing the economy in the short run. By reducing hiring, savings, and investment, they reduce economic growth in the long run. And higher tax rates are undermined by tax evasion and avoidance, making them an inefficient way to raise revenues.
Reducing tax “expenditures” is a good idea:Â When the tax code favors particular kinds of consumption or specific industries, it reduces productivity by distorting market forces, just as government spending can. Those who support economic efficiency should therefore oppose such tax expenditures, regardless of how they affect revenue or whether they are paired with reductions in tax rates. Important examples include the mortgage-interest deduction, special tax treatment of employer-paid health insurance premiums, and tax breaks for both conventional and green energy.
Health care is the greatest driver of expenses:Â The CBO’s analysis also indicates that rapidly increasing expenditures on Medicare, Medicaid, and insurance subsidies under Obamacare are the most important factors behind the exploding debt. Serious attempts to control the debt must reduce these programs’ growth rates.
Higher deductibles reduce health spending:Â Slowing the growth of health expenditures is crucial, but not all fixes are created equal. Price controls and rationing, for example, generate huge inefficiencies.
Higher deductibles are a better approach. They not only reduce spending directly; they also encourage consumers to economize and comparison shop, generating competition, efficiency, and lower costs. This moves Medicare toward insuring against catastrophic costs and away from reimbursing all expenses.
Jeffrey A. Miron is senior lecturer and director of undergraduate studies at Harvard University and senior fellow at the Cato Institute. Miron is the author ofLibertarianism, from A to Z.
Good article, but then, most of the suggestions align with my outlook and philosophy. But I’m not for totally eliminating “tax expenditures”, e.g. mortage interest deduction, tax exemption of paid health insurance premiums, etc., though some limits on them may be in order.
Definitely, Obamacare must be repealed. It’s now starting to cause severe distortions in the market place, which will restrict, rather than increase, access to higher quality health care. Imagine supply and demand forces when it comes to the supply of docs, which will shrink as baby boomer docs retire over the next decade.
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