![\"G.K.](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dougsbriefcase.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/credit-christiancompletely.jpg\")
<\/a>G.K. Chester\u00adton wor\u00adried that our ances\u00adtors would have too lit\u00adtle influ\u00adence on our soci\u00adety. But a new book by the Urban Insti\u00adtute\u2019s Gene Steuer\u00adle says that they exert too much con\u00adtrol over our pol\u00adi\u00adtics. [Cred\u00adit: chris\u00adtian\u00adcom\u00adplete\u00adly blog]<\/p><\/div>\u201cTra\u00addi\u00adtion means giv\u00ading votes to the most obscure of all class\u00ades, our ances\u00adtors. It is the democ\u00adra\u00adcy of the dead.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 G.K. Chester\u00adton<\/a>\n Chester\u00adton fret\u00adted that mod\u00adern democ\u00adra\u00adcies might show too lit\u00adtle def\u00ader\u00adence to past gen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtions. But accord\u00ading to the Urban Institute\u2019s Gene Steuer\u00adle, the very oppo\u00adsite is true: in Amer\u00adi\u00adcan democ\u00adra\u00adcy, dead men rule.<\/p>\n Steuer\u00adle lays out his provoca\u00adtive case in Dead Men Rul\u00ading<\/em><\/a>,<\/span> pub\u00adlished this past spring. For 200 years, Steuer\u00adle argues, a grow\u00ading econ\u00ado\u00admy pro\u00advid\u00aded gov\u00adern\u00adment with the resources to respond to the nation\u2019s ever-shift\u00ading cir\u00adcum\u00adstances. Con\u00adgress could chan\u00adnel tax receipts toward meet\u00ading unex\u00adpect\u00aded chal\u00adlenges and exploit\u00ading new opportunities.<\/p>\n All of that changed dur\u00ading the lat\u00adter part of the twen\u00adti\u00adeth cen\u00adtu\u00adry as Con\u00adgress cre\u00adat\u00aded more and big\u00adger enti\u00adtle\u00adment pro\u00adgrams and tax breaks. As a result of those deci\u00adsions made by peo\u00adple who have long since left office, our cur\u00adrent lead\u00aders find that most tax rev\u00adenue is spo\u00adken for.<\/p>\n The prob\u00adlem is the extra\u00ador\u00addi\u00adnary lev\u00adel of per\u00adma\u00adnent and grow\u00ading com\u00admit\u00adments we have made to exist\u00ading spend\u00ading pro\u00adgrams and tax sub\u00adsi\u00addies, and the par\u00adal\u00adlel promise not to col\u00adlect enough rev\u00adenues to pay for it all.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This state of affairs, Steuer\u00adle argues, is the result of both par\u00adties hav\u00ading large\u00adly accom\u00adplished what they set out to do: Democ\u00adrats in estab\u00adlish\u00ading spend\u00ading pro\u00adgrams that auto\u00admat\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly grow and Repub\u00adli\u00adcans in set\u00adting rel\u00ada\u00adtive\u00adly low tax rates.<\/p>\n Both par\u00adties have con\u00adspired to cre\u00adate and expand a series of pub\u00adlic pro\u00adgrams that auto\u00admat\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly grow so fast that they claim every dol\u00adlar of addi\u00adtion\u00adal tax rev\u00adenue that the gov\u00adern\u00adment gen\u00ader\u00adates each year. They also have con\u00adspired to lock in tax cuts that leave the gov\u00adern\u00adment unable to pay its bills. The result\u00ading squeeze deprives cur\u00adrent and future gen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtions of the lee\u00adway to choose their own pri\u00ador\u00adi\u00adties, allo\u00adcate their own resources, and reach for their own stars. Those gen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtions are left large\u00adly to main\u00adtain yesterday\u2019s priorities.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The book is an equal oppor\u00adtu\u00adni\u00adty offend\u00ader. Democ\u00adrats will bris\u00adtle at Steuerle\u2019s pro\u00adpos\u00adals to scale back enti\u00adtle\u00adment spend\u00ading, Repub\u00adli\u00adcans at his call for high\u00ader taxes.<\/p>\n Steuer\u00adle argues that view\u00ading the bud\u00adget strict\u00adly in terms of tax\u00ades and spend\u00ading has helped get us into this mess. The pub\u00adlic will almost always favor pay\u00ading low\u00ader tax\u00ades and receiv\u00ading high\u00ader ben\u00ade\u00adfits. Instead we should ana\u00adlyze fis\u00adcal pol\u00adi\u00adcy from the per\u00adspec\u00adtive of give\u00adaways and take\u00adaways. For him, spend\u00ading cuts and tax increas\u00ades are take\u00adaways, while spend\u00ading increas\u00ades and tax cuts are giveaways.<\/p>\n While there is mer\u00adit in think\u00ading about the bud\u00adget in this way, there also is a basic flaw. My Social Secu\u00adri\u00adty check is indeed a give\u00adaway. But my deduc\u00adtion of mort\u00adgage inter\u00adest, which allows me to keep more of my pen\u00adsion and invest\u00adment income, is not. The fact that the gov\u00adern\u00adment doesn\u2019t tax away all of my sav\u00adings doesn\u2019t mean that they have giv\u00aden me any\u00adthing, so it is some\u00adwhat mis\u00adlead\u00ading to char\u00adac\u00adter\u00adize tax deduc\u00adtions as giveaways.<\/p>\n But there is anoth\u00ader sense in which his point about tax\u00ades car\u00adries some force. The thick\u00adet of tax pref\u00ader\u00adences that has grown up over the decades smacks of social engi\u00adneer\u00ading. These pro\u00advi\u00adsions often seem at odds with the goal of tax\u00ada\u00adtion, which is to finance the nec\u00ades\u00adsary oper\u00ada\u00adtions of gov\u00adern\u00adment, not to reward con\u00adduct that the gov\u00adern\u00adment prefers. Tax\u00adpay\u00aders who engage in favored behav\u00adior like home\u00adown\u00ader\u00adship, char\u00adi\u00adta\u00adble giv\u00ading and enroll\u00adment in employ\u00ader-spon\u00adsored health cov\u00ader\u00adage get some pret\u00adty lucra\u00adtive tax breaks. How large are those breaks? Those three alone result\u00aded in the gov\u00adern\u00adment col\u00adlect\u00ading $259 bil\u00adlion less this year than it oth\u00ader\u00adwise would, accord\u00ading to the Joint Com\u00admit\u00adtee on Tax\u00ada\u00adtion<\/a>. Throw in oth\u00ader tax pref\u00ader\u00adences for indi\u00advid\u00adu\u00adals and cor\u00adpo\u00adra\u00adtions and the total of all the inapt\u00adly named \u201ctax expen\u00addi\u00adtures\u201d would climb by hun\u00addreds of bil\u00adlions more.<\/p>\n That\u2019s not to say that these tax pro\u00advi\u00adsions or the grow\u00ading mass of enti\u00adtle\u00adment pro\u00adgrams like Social Secu\u00adri\u00adty, Medicare, Med\u00adic\u00adaid and Oba\u00admacare don\u2019t serve a use\u00adful pur\u00adpose. It is only to say that, what\u00adev\u00ader their ben\u00ade\u00adfits, their cumu\u00adla\u00adtive cost has left gov\u00adern\u00adment bereft of the resources it needs to address chang\u00ading needs. They deny gov\u00adern\u00adment the flex\u00adi\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty and lee\u00adway \u2013 the \u201cfis\u00adcal free\u00addom,\u201d as Steuer\u00adle terms it \u2013 to adapt pub\u00adlic pol\u00adi\u00adcy to chang\u00ading circumstances.<\/p>\n Steuer\u00adle sees four dead\u00adly eco\u00adnom\u00adic con\u00adse\u00adquences of this loss of fis\u00adcal free\u00addom \u2013 ris\u00ading and unsus\u00adtain\u00adable debt, shrink\u00ading abil\u00adi\u00adty to meet reces\u00adsions and oth\u00ader emer\u00adgen\u00adcies, a bud\u00adget that invests less in the future, and bro\u00adken government.<\/p>\n Address\u00ading these eco\u00adnom\u00adic dis\u00adlo\u00adca\u00adtions is fraught with polit\u00adi\u00adcal risk, Steuer\u00adle writes. Democ\u00adrats and Repub\u00adli\u00adcans right\u00adly fear that they will lose polit\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly if they aban\u00addon long-stand\u00ading par\u00adty ortho\u00addoxy on tax\u00ades and enti\u00adtle\u00adments. Such changes, more\u00adover, would require them to \u201crenege on old promis\u00ades, telling peo\u00adple that they are no longer enti\u00adtled to the high\u00ader ben\u00ade\u00adfits or low tax\u00ades that they have come to expect.\u201d It would entail a seis\u00admic shift in inter\u00adgen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtional trans\u00adfers \u2014 a move away from poli\u00adcies that pri\u00admar\u00adi\u00adly favor the elder\u00adly to those that ben\u00ade\u00adfit the young \u2014 a polit\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly risky undertaking.<\/p>\n Loss of fis\u00adcal free\u00addom helps explain the ran\u00adcor and dead\u00adlock that increas\u00ading\u00adly afflict the polit\u00adi\u00adcal class, as elect\u00aded offi\u00adcials find them\u00adselves hemmed in by poli\u00adcies set by their long-ago pre\u00adde\u00adces\u00adsors. Dead men rule.<\/p>\n Despite its drea\u00adri\u00adness, Steuer\u00adle intends his book to offer hope. He cites numer\u00adous exam\u00adples from the first two cen\u00adturies of Amer\u00adi\u00adcan his\u00adto\u00adry to argue that a gov\u00adern\u00adment less encum\u00adbered by past com\u00admit\u00adments would be more nim\u00adble and effec\u00adtive<\/span>. He dis\u00adcuss\u00ades the ben\u00ade\u00adfits of shift\u00ading the empha\u00adsis of fis\u00adcal pol\u00adi\u00adcy from encour\u00adag\u00ading con\u00adsump\u00adtion to stim\u00adu\u00adlat\u00ading social mobil\u00adi\u00adty and eco\u00adnom\u00adic growth. Liv\u00ading stan\u00addards would rise amid a pros\u00adper\u00ading econ\u00ado\u00admy, Steuer\u00adle writes, if we did a bet\u00adter job of \u201crelat\u00ading tax and spend\u00ading pro\u00adgrams to the needs of mod\u00adern soci\u00adety rather than the wish\u00ades of dead and retired legislators.\u201d<\/p>\n Steuerle\u2019s sketch of how this might be accom\u00adplished is a bit want\u00adi\u00adng. He rejects the ardu\u00adous path of con\u00adsti\u00adtu\u00adtion\u00adal amend\u00adment and is not at all dis\u00adposed to requir\u00ading the gov\u00adern\u00adment to bal\u00adance its bud\u00adget on an annu\u00adal basis, regard\u00ading the deficit more as symp\u00adtom than dis\u00adease. The process changes he advo\u00adcates, though poten\u00adtial\u00adly ben\u00ade\u00adfi\u00adcial, are polit\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly daunt\u00ading and don\u2019t seem equal to the task.<\/p>\n But a com\u00adpre\u00adhen\u00adsive and work\u00adable plan for recov\u00ader\u00ading fis\u00adcal free\u00addom is far too much to expect from a sin\u00adgle book. Steuer\u00adle is to be com\u00admend\u00aded for call\u00ading us to shake off the yoke of dead men and to think dif\u00adfer\u00adent\u00adly about gov\u00adern\u00adment, its fis\u00adcal con\u00addi\u00adtion and the ben\u00ade\u00adfits of shelv\u00ading some of our most cher\u00adished polit\u00adi\u00adcal fetishes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201c<\/span>Tra\u00addi\u00adtion means giv\u00ading votes to the most obscure of all class\u00ades, our ances\u00adtors. It is the democ\u00adra\u00adcy of the dead.\u201d \u2013 G.K. Chester\u00adton Chester\u00adton fret\u00adted that mod\u00adern democ\u00adra\u00adcies might show too lit\u00adtle def\u00ader\u00adence to past gen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtions. But accord\u00ading to the \u2026 Con\u00adtin\u00adue read\u00ading