OPINION:
Congress is debating major funding bills that would avoid another of those phony government “shutdowns,” now scheduled for Jan. 30.
One sticking point is that Democrats want to either defund U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or greatly reduce its budget, even though it is following the law in arresting and deporting people from other countries, some of whom have committed crimes while in the country.
Adding nothing positive to this debate is Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee.
In a lengthy letter to the editor of The Wall Street Journal this week, Mr. Romney seems to be channeling Democrats when he writes that he is fine with tax increases because “continuing to add to the national debt at a rate far greater than the growth of the economy can’t go on forever.”
It can go on long enough to result in serious consequences if Congress refuses to address the main problem: not revenue, but spending. Mr. Romney is at the wrong end of the debate.
The U.S. government has been taking in record amounts of revenue, largely driven by a surge in tariff collections under President Trump’s policies. Total revenue has reached a new high, exceeding $5 trillion in fiscal year 2025. Individual income taxes have reached record levels in recent years, significantly boosting federal coffers. Yet the national debt is approaching $39 trillion (Visit USDebtClock.org and see how many numbers are in red and quickly rising).
So total revenue has hit new highs and individual income taxes are at record levels (though down slightly under Mr. Trump), but the debt keeps rising. Raise your hand if you know why.
Yes, it’s because spending keeps increasing, and despite efforts by Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency crew, Congress appears unwilling to reduce spending and keeps borrowing more money.
These arguments are familiar to most people who are paying attention and care about the future, but fewer seem to because so many are receiving government benefits. Nearly 100 million Americans, about one-third of the total population, received some form of government assistance in 2019, according to a 2023 estimate from the Department of Health and Human Services.
We’ve heard the howls from Democrats and the media when there are suggestions to cut anything, including the rate of increased spending, along with unnecessary and fraudulent spending.
Human nature tells us that the more people rely on others (in this case, the government), the less likely they are to rely on themselves.
At the end of his letter in The Journal, Mr. Romney writes, “I’m a great deal more concerned about the future of the country than the size of my tax bill.” If that’s true, then Mr. Romney should be focused on cutting spending and reducing debt before giving Washington another dime, whether it’s his or dimes from the rest of us.
In an address to the nation on April 24, 1985, President Reagan said: “No matter how hard you work, no matter how strong this economy grows, no matter how much more tax money comes to Washington, it won’t amount to a hill of beans if government won’t curb its endless appetite to spend. Overspending is the subject we must now address — how budgets got so far out of balance and, yes, what together we can and must do to correct this. … Every dollar the government spends comes out of your pockets. Every dollar the government gives to someone has to first be taken away from someone else. So, it’s our moral duty to make sure that we can justify every one of your tax dollars, that we spend them wisely and carefully and, just as important, fairly.”
Mitt Romney should watch Reagan’s address.
• Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com. Look for Cal Thomas’ latest book, “A Watchman in the Night: What I’ve Seen Over 50 Years Reporting on America” (Humanix Books).
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