Tom Finneran: About All That Money

Tom Finneran: About All That Money

Millions turn magically to billions.

Now that wasn’t so hard was it? In fact, it was easy.

Then billions turn magically to trillions.

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That was easy too, perhaps too easy.

The figures that are being tossed around in Washington D.C. boggle the mind. And one of the truly astounding facts to consider is that America is seen as a “safe” place to park money. Given our un-ending multi-billion dollar deficits, it’s a miracle that the dollar is still seen as a prudent investment. It makes one wonder just how poorly the other nations of the world are run. Are their currencies any different than the Monopoly money my grandkids throw around the table? Are their annual deficits really that much worse than ours?

My gripe is not with the recent emergency stimulus bills passed by Congress and signed by President Trump. We are in the midst of an unimaginable global contraction and the hardships created by that contraction are vast and severe. Ambitious, even astounding sums are needed to bridge the economic difficulties which have engulfed the American people. Yes, there should be small business assistance provided. Yes, there should be extended unemployment benefits. Yes, there should be special payments to the nation’s hospitals. Yes, there should be a behemoth infrastructure program. And yes, there should be federal assistance to the fifty states whose budgets have been utterly wrecked by the global quarantine. I have no objection to any of these initiatives nor with the bonded debt that the nation must issue to fund these programs. True emergencies demand bold strokes.

Rather, my gripe is with the casual acceptance of a pattern of “peacetime” budgets which rest upon three consecutive Presidents who were indifferent to twenty years of Congressional spendthrifts. Such profligacy will inevitably bring its own well-deserved punishments. Sadly, those punishments are more likely to be visited upon the children and grandchildren of the fiscal drunks who started and prolonged the keg party.

A great nation must respond to true emergencies. Those emergencies might be regional, national, or global. A great nation must have the capacity to respond quickly and generously to grievous events. But no nation can be great for any extended period of massive and continuous deficit spending. America should be blushing with shame that it cannot or will not put its fiscal house in order.

War is not cheap. If we’re willing to fight hostile forces, then we should be willing to pay the piper. And despite the absurd “multiplier” claims of AOC and her acolytes, domestic spending is not cheap. If we’re willing to create domestic programs, then we should be paying that piper too.

Now, suddenly, a true crisis hits the nation and the world. At the moment, and perhaps only for the moment, we are lucky to be able to provide strong helping hands to many hard-hit families.  But luck is not a permanent passport to a great nation’s survival. Wisdom, prudence, self-restraint, and self-discipline are the essential ingredients for success.

Perhaps someone in Washington will re-discover those old-fashioned habits. The moment is overdue.