It makes sense that the federal government is stepping in to provide financial relief to the millions of citizens facing economic ruin due to the coronavirus crisis and subsequent government restrictions on activity. But what’s unconscionable is the fact that, thanks to the way Congress spent the last decade ignoring any sense of fiscal responsibility, coronavirus relief must come at the cost of further indebting future generations and dimming the outlook of our financial future.
It’s not the $2 trillion price tag on the coronavirus relief bill, passed Wednesday evening by the Senate, that does this in and of itself. One big spike in government spending during a crisis isn’t, or at least shouldn’t, be the end of the world. The way it’s supposed to work is that during times of growth and prosperity, such as the last decade or so, lawmakers are supposed to rein in budget deficits. That way, they will later have the leeway to borrow and spend during a crisis without completely torpedoing the national debt.
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