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Congressional Republicans are clearly struggling to come up with a plan to balance the budget, which is a little embarrassing for the GOP given that it’s the goal the party chose for itself. But Republican Sen. Rick Scott published a tweet the other day suggesting the task shouldn’t be especially challenging.
“Why are people acting like it’s so difficult to balance the federal budget? You, your family and your business do it every day! Why can’t Congress?”
I suspect the Floridian intended those questions to be rhetorical, but let’s go ahead and answer them anyway, since this is a talking point that comes up with unnerving frequency.
At first blush, much of the public might find such an argument superficially persuasive. If we balance our budgets, then it might stand to reason that their federal government should do the same. It’s the kind of pitch that’s intended to have a vaguely folksy, common-sense appeal.
So what’s wrong with it? Pretty much everything.
Even if we put aside the dramatic macroeconomic differences between family budgets and the finances of a global superpower, the truth remains that American households and businesses fail to balance their budgets all the time — and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Just as Congress takes on debts, families do the same thing. We take out mortgages to buy homes. We finance car purchases. We borrow to pay for college. We get loans to start small businesses. We occasionally carry a balance on our credit cards. We sometimes have to borrow money in response to emergencies. American businesses also routinely take on debts for all sorts of reasons.
None of this is seen as controversial — because it’s not. Families and businesses borrow in order to invest in themselves, as they should.
Scott’s argument is based on a falsehood he really ought to understand. The senator apparently believes that if Americans balance their budgets, then Congress should balance its budget. Whether the Florida Republican appreciates this or not, most Americans don’t balance their budgets.
Perhaps Scott should consider the same question in reverse: If families and businesses don’t balance their budgets, why exactly should it be a priority for the federal government to balance its budget?