Aneri Jambusaria: Breaking the budget: the politics of irresponsibility

This past Saturday, I had the opportunity to meet and listen to Dennis Hastert, the speaker of the House of Representatives, at a small rally in the suburbs. I was initially hesitant as to whether I wanted to attend what would undoubtedly be a just another vote-garnering event for his fellow Republican congressional candidate, no different from the countless others going on all over southeastern Pennsylvania and the rest of the country.

It's not that I dislike Speaker Hastert, or even that I disagree with everything he stands for, but I have an aversion to the empty pomp of politics that is possibly as strong as Superman's distaste for Kryptonite.

At any rate, I decided to test my preconceptions and attended the event. Speaker Hastert discussed in depth practically every major issue in politics today and emphasized the necessity to continue with the important reforms that have taken place since President Bush took office.

But when it came to the fiscal state of the government, the speaker was far more reticent and only briefly mentioned that taxpayers must be assured that congressmen are using their hard-earned dollars in a wise manner.

This was a smart move for Hastert -- one that politicians from both parties seem to be making in these precious few days before a very important election. Their reasoning is clear: this past week, the government announced that in the Fiscal Year 2002, it ran a $159 billion deficit; a complete turnaround from Fiscal 2001, which posted an enormous surplus, one that was intended to be maintained.

Though unforeseen circumstances in the post-Sept. 11 era have necessitated unexpected expenditures, and the fact that the new figures were not surprising to most, it is apparent that politicians have been less-than-stringent in their discretionary spending.

There has been much discussion in economic circles on the unusual nature of our current recession, since consumption has continued to remain strong despite the weak economy. A similar strangeness is found in government spending, as it not only increased -- as it is expected to do in recession -- but has skyrocketed. Ninety-five percent of our 10-year budget surplus has already been spent. And though about $30 billion of the increase in annually appropriated funds has been spent on defense, almost twice that amount has been used for a variety of voter-friendly projects.

But more important than losing our ability to use the word "surplus" are the future consequences that will result from not having funds that we once expected would exist. Instead of preparing for the Social Security and Medicare problems that will occur once the baby-boom generation reaches retirement age, Congress has utilized those tax revenues to finance other programs that provide instant gratification.

There is no doubt that Washington is aware of these issues, but instead of tackling them and attempting to control spending before it's too late, politicians are swept up in the pre-election fury, pointing fingers over who is responsible for the deficit and making promises that, if kept, will surely worsen our economic condition in the future.

Neither Democrats nor Republicans are willing to cut back on their spending plans, resulting in a disproportionally large amount of government spending that seems to be crowding out investment -- the key to why Bush's numerous tax breaks haven't been making a big impact in the state of our economy.

I don't claim to be an expert on fiscal policy, but it's obvious that things have simply gotten out of control. If we want to continue having the government play a positive role in our society, it is imperative that we stop consistently asking for unadvisable programs and instead urge our representatives to spend our tax money wisely where it needs to be spent.

Robert Frost wrote, "Not all that glitters is gold," and the election-year pipe dreams that we love to hear about will always be obstructed by the harsh reality of the dollar. In the coming year, we may very well see our newly elected officials struggle to regain the government's vision, having gouged its eyes with its own two hands.

So, on Election Day this Tuesday, I urge you to vote for the candidates of your choosing -- but don't say I didn't warn you.

Aneri Jambusaria is a sophomore Finance concentrator from Monroeville, Pa.

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