This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Sens. Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee and now state Rep. Carl Wimmer, R-Herriman, all want a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution. We have a better idea: Propose an actual balanced federal budget right now!
The proposed 2011 federal budget is $3.8 trillion. That includes $2.4 trillion for Social Security, Medicare, interest payments and other mandatory expenses; $0.9 trillion for defense; and $0.5 trillion for all other discretionary spending (everything from farm subsidies to national parks). The deficit is projected to be $1.3 trillion.
A freeze on discretionary spending and elimination of earmarks are mere drops in the federal budget bucket. Since tax increases are complete anathema to the Lees and Hatches of Congress, the public deserves to hear their specifics on the 34 percent cut in federal spending needed to balance the budget under the amendment they hold so dear.
This posturing is political cowardice at its worst. We can only view the call of Wimmer, Hatch and Lee for a balanced budget amendment for what it is: a fig leaf to hide behind to convince the public they are fiscally prudent while proposing nothing substantive to solve the problem.
Paul and Teri Jewell
Salt Lake City