Congress Continues to Pummel Taxpayers and Future Taxpayers

The Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves

The staggering wastefulness in Washington is closing in on the federal government to a state in which even a non-emergency peacetime economy with low unemployment can’t come close to paying Beltway bills. The country’s last four presidents have been complete failures in curtailing spending.

“As the surging costs of financing Washington become more apparent, one candidate in the presidential race seems prepared to offer an especially compelling alternative,” applauds James Freeman in the WSJ.

Florida is considered among the most creditworthy borrowers, and why shouldn’t it be, given that its debt has been shrinking in recent years while its economy has been surging. Its economy has been booming in part because it still wisely avoids taxing personal income and wisely seeks to maintain liberty, even in times of political panic.

The contrast with Joe Biden’s Washington is stunning and the DeSantis record is also significant as Republican voters consider alternatives to Donald Trump. Since the former president is now favored by a majority  of Republican primary voters, he will not be defeated simply by the winnowing of the Republican field. A Trump rival will need to make a credible case for more effective leadership on the issues Republican voters prioritize.

During the Covid panic, Mr. Trump frequently expressed a preference for reopening, but he ended up largely financing the lockdowns and continuing to employ the lockdowners.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis took on the Trump record in a Thursday interview with Bill Hemmer of Fox News:

So he (Trump) owes it to the voters to defend his record, to defend the decisions he’s made, and also to defend–why is he running on the same program in 2016 that he did not actually implement?

For example, draining the swamp… He didn’t fire Anthony Fauci… Now all of a sudden, he’s going to slay the administrative state when he gave Fauci an award his last day in office? What about all the spending and debt? They racked up massive amounts of debt, particularly in his last year in office. Of course, you’re going to end up leading to inflation when you do that.