What is fiscal conservatism?

[TXlib]

I feel many Republicans today define fiscal conservatism mainly by tax cuts, whereas Democrats define it mostly by a balanced budget.

A true fiscal conservative requires BOTH.

There really aren't any fiscal conservatives anymore; there haven't been since Nixon. Republicans charge that Democrats are the party of "Tax & Spend". Perhaps, but since Reagan, Republicans have been the party of "Debt & Spend": They cut taxes, sure, but without a commensurate drop in governmental spending, or worse, with an increase, resulting in public indebtedness.

The solution to the indebtedness lies in increasing taxes in the future, or slashing government services in the future, which usually will fall to the opposing party to do once it takes office (i.e. - Clinton's balanced budget and surplus after Reagan/Bush Sr's deficit) so for that reason, I find "Debt & Spend" more disingenuous than "Tax & Spend".

[bif]

1. Ya don't spend what ya don't have.

Kind of the way you should run a household.

[wtmusic]

4. Mmm Hmm

Seven words is about all you need

[DemocratSinceBirth]

13. Economics 101

There's good debt and bad debt......

Going into debt to buy a home that provides shelter, tax benefits, and appreciates is good debt....

Going into debt to go on a cruise is bad debt....

A company going into debt to purchase equipment or hire more employees is good debt.....

A company going into debt to maintain its day to day operations is bad debt.

If the government goes into debt to spur the economy through tax cuts or increased government spending that is good debt....

Of course it can be o-v-e-r-d-o-n-e.....and you should have a plan to return to a balanced budget when the economy recovers....

Surpluses are good for good times and defecits are good for bad times.....

I do argree that the R's have abandoned their historical role as fiscal conservatives.... That began with Reagan's massive tax cuts....

[number six]

2. Fiscal Conservatism is reasonable so long

as you're talking about budget deficits and so on. It makes reasonable sense to put money down (where feasible) on lowering the deficit as the money spent on the deficit could be going to better use. Their idea of fiscal conservatism is more money in their pockets.

We're in the position and now where most moderate left-wingers are fiscally conservative while the Republicans couldn't care less. Maybe we should redefine the term. Fiscal Responsibility sounds better. Why should financial responsibility by a conservative trait? The more money we have on hand, the more of a difference we can make.

[AP]

3. To me, fiscal policy comes down to this:

Do you think money should generally flow down to the middle class, and do you feel the gov't should stand as the policeman making sure that the corporations trying to run monopoliies and act negligently are sticking their hands in the pockets of citizesn? Or, do you think money should flow up to the wealthiest people in society and that the gov't should help grease the skids through regressive taxation, deregualtaiont, privatization, and the encouragement of monopolization by ever growing and concentrated corporate power?

Fiscal liberals believe in the former, fiscal conservatives believe in the latter.

Another way to describe the difference: Keynes is a fiscal liberal. Supply-siders are fiscal conservatives.

[AP]

5. Clinton's focus wasn't balancing the budget. It was growing the economy,

and he wanted to grow it by liberalizing it (with progressive taxation and by trying to unburden and give more opportunities to the poor, working and middle class). His goal was to create a very large, wealthy middle class. He was a Keynsian.

When he ran a surplus, his goal did not become to balance the budget. He welcomed the unbalanced budget and dumped the surplus into protecting social security, because that was the best way, he thought, to keept the middle class big and rich.

Hooever's focus was a balanced budget...at all costs. And he put the burden on everyone except the rich and big corporations to balance the budget. It destroyed the economy.

[Brucey]

6. I don't think a household is a good analogy.

We need to run a society in an interdependent world. Taxes are our income. Who wants a cut in income? Spending is on us, unlike a family that spends on outside goods and services. We can spend, that is, give money to people in our society, and that will generate more income, and the money will be spent (if it isn't all given to the rich who already have enough to meet all their spending desires), and will result in more spending and income. Deficits aren't all bad, if the spending is done reasonably. Saving is not all good, either. Clinton had a pretty good mix of things. Lots of people would be willing to pay higher taxes if we got health care, more jobs, better schools, less traffic congestion, higher quality living conditions, etc.

[BurtWorm]

7. Borrow and Spend

is more grammatically correct than Debt and Spend. Same idea though. A Gingrichian tactic would be to never use the word Republican without the modifier "Borrow and Spend."

PS: In this case, the epithet is justified.

[TXlib]

10. Yes, I thought that, too

But "Borrow and spend" dousn't have the harsh sound of "debt and spend". I was originally going to call it "deficit spend", but wanted a parallel to "tax and spend", and since "tax" could be both a noun and a verb, I went with "debt and spend".

[mmonk]

8. I define fiscal conservatism as

not having structural or long term built in debt (continual deficit spending). Sometimes when the economy is down, a little deficit spending helps to jumpstart the economy (stimulus). However, you need to return to balanced budgets or you do harm if its long term because it drives long term interest rates higher. The problem with Republicans and any supply sider is they don't see tax cuts as a stimulus, but an economic plan.

[IrateCitizen]

9. ProfessorGAC has defined this numerous times here

Basically, fiscal conservatism means that you don't spend any more than you have coming in. While it can be referred to cutting spending and lowering taxes, it would ALSO apply to raising spending and raising taxes.

What Republicans advocate is not fiscal conservatism -- it's just plain fiscal irresponsibility.

[Loonman]

11. Conservatives used to be fiscally responsible

Until they were hijacked by the neo-cons.

[radwriter0555]

12. Robbing the poor to enrich the wealthy. Punishing children and the poor

so that the rich can become MORE rich.

[Selwynn]

14. Both parties are tax and spend - here's how:

Republicans tax the poor for spending progams for the rich
Democrats tax the rich for spending programs for the poor.

Obviously its more complicated than that, but that's not really that far from accurate.

The one that makes me the most angry is when conservatives say they're for "smaller government." No they're not. What they're for is less or no social programs for poor and middle class americans. They are for HUGE government when it comes to corporate wellfare and programs for big business and the ultra rich.