I guess this was only a matter of time.
Republican budget writers say they may have found a way to cut the federal deficit even if they borrow hundreds of billions more to overhaul the Social Security system: Don’t count all that new borrowing.
As they lay the groundwork for what will probably be a controversial fight over Social Security, Republican lawmakers and the Bush administration are examining a number of accounting strategies that would allow the expensive transition to a partially privatized Social Security system without — at least on paper — expanding the country’s record annual budget deficits. The strategies include, for example, moving the costs of Social Security reform “off-budget” so they are not counted against the government’s yearly shortfall.
These people are insane. Literally crazy.
Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), the incoming chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, said concerns about the deficit should not be allowed to stand in the way of an overhaul that would put the ailing Social Security system on the path to solvency.
“You cannot look at Social Security in the context of a five-year budget,” the window that current White House and congressional spending plans cover, Gregg said. “To do so is naive and foolish. … If this is simply scored as a five-year exercise, we’re never going to solve the problem.”
Gregg’s thinking mirrors sentiments within the White House, according to administration officials and White House advisers. “The budget should reflect that this is an investment, a down payment that will have very positive implications,” said White House spokesman Trent Duffy.
OK, intellectually serious Republicans out there, defend this. I dare you.
My friend Phil mentioned this morning that this is Enron-style accounting, which is absolutely right — there is no difference at all. The government would look at our budget and only count expenditures and shortfalls the administration officials felt like counting. When Enron did this, it was not only illegal, it bankrupted the company. Now the Bush administration is considering the Enron example as a model to emulate, apparently because they’ve lost their minds.
A leading Dem moderate, who’s never been known for overheated rhetoric, summed this up perfectly.
“We’re entering the theater of the absurd, where you spend money, but it doesn’t count, you borrow money, but you deny it,” said Kent Conrad (N.D.), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee. “Republicans are becoming further and further detached from reality.”
It’s as if these people are actively trying to destroy the country. I’m trapped in a Twilight Zone episode, right?