Late Tuesday night, Congress approved, and the President signed the following day, a deal to avert the fiscal cliff. But it is too soon to begin the back-slapping and congratulations.
In fact, the agreement did little to tackle the biggest drivers of the country’s fiscal problems or tackle the growing national debt. Without meaningful entitlement, tax and spending reforms the debt will continue to grow, continue to endanger jobs and economic growth, and continue to put an even greater burden on future generations.
While it is good that lawmakers were able to reach a fiscal cliff agreement, regrettably it largely ignores the true drivers of our country’s fiscal woes. Lawmakers in Washington shouldn’t sit back and wait for the next problems to arise. Instead, they should redouble their efforts to make comprehensive reforms now that stabilize the debt and put it on a gradual path of reduction.
Lawmakers have a responsibility to future generations to get our fiscal house in order. Instead of a finish line, lawmakers should capitalize on the goodwill of the moment to return to the table to discuss the tough decisions necessary to stabilize the national debt and gradually put it on a downward trajectory.
Wisconsin members of the Campaign to Fix the Debt are now urging policymakers to make the reforms needed to further control spending, ensure the sustainability and solvency of entitlement programs, and reform the U.S. tax code to promote growth and greater revenue.
The President and members of Congress have publicly stated that more work needs to be done. The deal that the country needs will require lawmakers to put aside partisan holdouts to reach a principled agreement large enough to stabilize the debt and put it on a downward long-term trajectory.
For more information on the Campaign to Fix the Debt, please visit www.fixthedebt.org.
Former Congressman Scott Klug is a co-chair of Fix the Debt-Wisconsin.
