Shut Down Showdown

"Shut it down. Shut it down now."
--Telco operator (Die Hard)

NPR show discussing the prospects of government shut down if no budget bill is soon passed. While shows like this bring discussants with various viewpoints together, these viewpoints are widely understood. And views by themselves do little to get us toward the truth.

The issue here is government spending--spending which is now growing exponentially. The spending problem is bipartisan in nature, although the Obama administration has taken this behavior and associated deficits to unprecedented and nearly mindblowing levels. For example, outlays (see Table 1.1. here) in 2010 were $3.5 trillion (16% higher than Bush's already monstrous spending in 2008), reflecting a deficit of $1.3 trillion (which makes Bush's $459 billion deficit, which was a record at the time, look almost tiny in comparison).

The magnitude of these numbers and the general trend clearly suggest out-of-control behavior--behavior that has perhaps become addictive in nature.

We can propose this because, by and large, government remains in denial about the problem.

A couple weeks back, the president proposed a budget intended to increase govt spending in 2011. House Republicans nearly matched that ineptitude, countering with a proposal to cut govt spending by a 'whopping' $60 billion (do the math: what is $60 billion on 2010 spending of $3.5 trillion?).

Almost as laughable are people who laud that GOP proposal as too drastic...

Make no mistake, unless we take action to reverse course in a hurry, the spectre of a 'government shutdown' will be low on our list of worries.

Economic forces will see to it.