Video: Tax hikes not needed to balance budget

(By Ed Morrissey, Hot Air) - Of course they’re not, says Dan Mitchell of the Center for Freedom and Prosperity. Most obviously, we can simply start cutting vast amounts of federal agencies in jurisdictions outside those granted the federal government by the Constitution. But as Mitchell puts it, no one in Washington cares about the Constitution anyway. You know what they like, though? 'Bill Clinton'. Heck, even Mitchell likes Bill Clinton … at least in comparison to what followed, in terms of spending. Going back to the Clinton budget, even after adjusting for inflation, would almost immediately balance the budget:



Of course, some people in the Beltway like Barack Obama, too. (It’s one of the few places where one can say that about Obama without fear of contradiction.) Mitchell has an answer for that, too. If we just put a hard cap on spending, the budget would naturally balance itself in five years — 'with the Bush tax cuts still in place'.

The only reason to raise taxes is to allow Congress to spend more … which is the 'real' reason for our massive deficits. It’s akin to giving free heroin to a junkie.