A Better East Texas: Balanced budget

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - If you are in business, you operate to make a profit. Meaning, you take in more money than you spend on expenses. If not, you go out of business, pretty quickly.

If your household spends more money than you take in, you can go bankrupt. Either way, that model – spending more than your revenue – is not sustainable. Unless you are the U-S government. Since 1970 the federal government has operated in a fiscal deficit for all but 4 years. That is not sustainable, but Washington continues to pile on spending, largely without accountability.

It should be noted that most every state, including Texas, operates with a balanced budget requirement. But the federal government seems to be immune fiscal responsibility. It is not possible to predict how far it will go, but Congressman Nathaniel Moran has introduced legislation that, if passed, would require the federal government to operate under a balanced budget approach.

There would still be a process for emergency spending but at least there would be guardrails on controlling budget lines that typically have little control measures in place. There would have to be a nationwide vote on it to pass but surely this will be given proper consideration and priority by congressional leadership.

Balancing a budget just seems like a no brainer but, unfortunately, when you are dealing with a decades-old condition that no one from either party has been able to tackle, it may be too steep a hill to climb. But let’s try, and that will make for a Better East Texas.

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