The inauguration of Tom Corbett
as Pennsylvania governor marks a new era for the state—or does it?
During a Jan. 8 swearing in
ceremony in Harrisburg, Gov. Corbett spoke of restoring integrity and financial
discipline. He also talked about a new era of civility in the Keystone State.
Financial responsibility?
Integrity? Civility? Do those things sound familiar? They should. Those
concepts have been bandied about for more than a year. They led to the election
of Chris Christie as governor of New Jersey in 2009, brought the U.S. House of
Representatives back under Republican control and did the same for the
Pennsylvania General Assembly.
So far only Gov. Christie has
made strides in implementing those ideas. Republicans in the U.S. Congress—both
the House and Senate—have only begun their self-professed mission and so far
that’s been only talk. It’s great talk, but will they walk or just talk? Will
there be action or merely political posturing?
The Republicans in the new
Congress have vowed to overturn Obamacare. Fat chance and they know it.
They only have a majority in
the House. Even if by some fluke the Senate goes along, there are still not
enough votes to overturn the inevitable presidential veto. Overturning the bill
is nothing more than rhetoric.
What will be more interesting
to watch is how they vote on the national debt ceiling. The current debt
limit—by law—is $14.3 trillion, but the actual debt has reached $14 trillion
and is growing.
President Obama—who as a U.S.
senator—fought against raising the debt limit when George W. Bush was
president. Now, however, he wants Congress to raise the ceiling another
trillion. How will the GOP member of Congress vote on that, stand tall or
knuckle under?
In his Jan. 11 blog, Jacob
Hornberger, president of the Future of Freedom Foundation said: “You bet your
debased dollar they’ll cave. But while they’re caving, they’ll also be
posturing by crying, “Obamacare! Obamacare! We tried to repeal Obamacare!”
Mr. Hornberger noted that
Republicans talked tough when they regained control of Congress in 1994, but
spent like Democrats once they were in office.
“But after voters delivered
Congress and the presidency to the Republicans, they laughed all the way to the
bank, feeding at the federal trough, handing out money to their buddies, and
having a grand old party,” he wrote.
Debt and regulation beyond
protection against force and fraud are stifling the productivity and energy of
the country and of the states. On both levels borrowing has to stop, spending
must be reduced and debts paid off.
Fewer regulations, less
spending and lower tax rates will improve the overall economy. People will have
more money to spend and businesses will have greater flexibility to respond to
those consumer-driven market changes.
We wish Mr. Corbett well in his
desire to improve the economic climate in Pennsylvania. If he fails, though, he
can’t blame the Democrats. His party has the majority. What will he do with it?
Talk is cheap.
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