David Broder The Washington Post

February 10, 2010

David Broder
The Washington Post
1150 15th Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20017

RE: It’s never too late. Some comments on lingering myths and what you can do to rid yourself of the harmful effects of still believing them.

Mr. Broder,

Your column in this morning’s Sun-Sentinel includes the following statement:

“…it may be a decade until the nation’s finances looks as
healthy as they did the day Bill Clinton left office…”

There are two facts always missing when discussing the “balanced budget” of the glorious Clinton years.

#1 – The Federal budget makes no distinction between capital items and expense items. Simply put, the construction of an aircraft carrier and the costs of implementing “Midnight Basketball” were – are – treated the same. That is offensive to Logic. It is also inherently inimical to the rules of good husbandry.

#2 – Why, if the budgets were balanced during the Clinton years, was there no reduction in the total Federal debt? Not once, ever, did it go down. Continuing a practice begun in 1964 all payroll taxes deducted for Social Security go into the Federal budget as income. The Federal government then issues an IOU, a chit if you will, to the Social Security administration. Presumably it is placed in a “lock box” with our names on it. Madness.

That the best hope for good government lies with Washington being covered in snow for the next 3 months is mute testimony to our folly.

My uncle Adam said, “What is prudence in running the affairs of a family can scarce be folly in running the affairs of an empire.”

For a well functioning family the serendipitous arrival of a windfall will always involve the prepayment of some debts.

We did not.

You qualify as an old dog in Washington press circles. Before you croodle with other old dogs by the fire – Why does the name Helen Thomas leap to mind? – you may wish to learn at least one new trick.

Kevin Smith