Dan Mitchell Commenting on the DC Budget Fight

Photo by Gage Skidmore

Rather than politely allowing Congress to raise the debt limit with no caveats, as they have so many times before, President Trump could use the debt limit increase as a way to force Congress to pass some reforms. Cato Institute senior fellow Dan Mitchell suggests a spending cap or entitlement reform as possible places Trump might pressure Congress. He writes:

Let’s close by indulging one of my fantasies. If Donald Trump wanted to force good policy from Congress, he could threaten to veto any debt limit that wasn’t accompanied by something desirable such as a spending cap or entitlement reform. The politicians on Capitol Hill would balk of course, but Trump could shrug his shoulders and start “prioritization” once the debt limit was reached. So long as all bondholders received promised payments, there would be no danger to financial markets. By contrast, however, the various interest groups feeding at the federal trough would begin to squeal once their checks started slowing down. At some point, Congress would be forced to capitulate.

In other words, Trump has the capacity to score a big victory on the debt limit, just like he has the unilateral ability to score a big victory on Obamacare repealand/or the 2018 spending bills.

I’m not holding my breath for this to happen, but it’s nice to dream. Especially since a big fight over the debt limit today (if successful) could save us from something far worse in the future.

Dan Mitchell Commenting on the DC Budget Fight

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E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

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E.J. Smith is the Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH, where he completed course-work in Practical and Defensive Handgun, Conceal Carry Pistol, Shotguns, Precision Scope Rifle and Kidnapping Prevention. E.J. plays a Yamaha Recording Custom drum set with Zilldjian cymbals. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zilldjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@youngresearch.com. Sign up here to receive all the best content from Richardcyoung.com each week.