The Hill News

In the coming weeks the federal debt limit is scheduled to be increased for the seventh time in the past three years. A familiar high stakes game of budget “chicken” begins anew. So why is it so difficult to balance the federal budget at a time when both parties are allegedly desperate to do so?

My service on the House Budget Committee and as a House majority whip lead to one simple conclusion: it’s all about a constant pressure to spend.

Fact: Most human beings want approval; most elected officials crave it. Result: It is near impossible to control the primal urge to spend taxpayer dollars or, more precisely, pile up gargantuan debt on the federal credit card.

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