The Republican presidential candidates all say they favor a balanced budget. But Concord Coalition Executive Director Robert L. Bixby notes that over five hours of televised debate earlier this month, not one of the candidates was asked to explain how this would be accomplished.
The Republican presidential candidates all say they favor a balanced budget. But Concord Coalition Executive Director Robert L. Bixby notes that over five hours of televised debate earlier this month, not one of the candidates was asked to explain how this would be accomplished.
“This is a critical omission that should be corrected in the next debate hosted by CNBC on Oct. 28,” Bixby wrote in The Hill’s Congress Blog. “The main topic in that debate is supposed to be the economy and there is a direct link between the candidates’ fiscal policy proposals and their economic visions for the nation.”
The Democratic candidates, who are scheduled to have their first debate Oct. 13 on CNN, should be pressed on their budget plans as well.
“In the Republican debates so far, some attention has been devoted to various line-item proposals, such as whether Social Security should be means-tested, or whether private equity fund managers should have their profits taxed as ordinary income rather than as capital gains,” Bixby says. Similarly, the Democratic debate may shed some light on proposals to increase Social Security benefits or provide free college education.
“These are important questions,” Bixby says, “but they miss the central issue: How does it all add up over time?”
He concludes: “Candidates must not get a free pass to offer a free lunch.”
