MY VIEW: Judd Gregg February 2013

Former Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) comments on the partisanship in Washington, an issue that so far has been holding back attempts to reach a deal that will solve our deficit problem. He elaborates:

What is causing all this dysfunctionality in Washington?  Is there a way forward that does not involve the chaos theory our government is functioning under?

The core problem is that we are trying to learn how to deal with a government that arose in a time of plenty — when our nation had its largest generation in history, the baby boom generation, engaged in the work force. Now, that generation is moving out of the workforce and into the role of the recipient.

We are taking 70 million people who made up the most productive and wealth-generating group in the nation’s history, and moving them from pulling the wagon to being in the wagon.  This transfer, coupled with the massive explosion in the possibilities and costs of healthcare, has created an untenable fiscal situation.

But it does not have to be this way. Though both Democratic and Republican proposals differ in approach, there is enough overlap between their positions to find a plan that can satisfy both parties. If lawmakers can find the right balance, we would be successful in dealing with our fiscal problems once and for all. Says Gregg:

The president wants to push forward with his signature program on healthcare, and raise revenues to fund it.  He also wants to aggressively use government to seek redress for what he and his cadre of Harvard reformers believe to be the inherently unjust nature of many aspects of our nation.  

Republicans want to bring down the cost of government and put us on a path to fiscal solvency by restraining spending.  They also want government to be much less intrusive in the day-to-day lives of Americans.

It is the first part of the goals of the two parties that can be made to overlap.  We can get this debt and deficit down through an agreed path that both parties should be able to live with.

In its simplest terms it involves an agreement to adjust entitlements through changes that do not result in near-term impacts of great significance — but which lead to dramatic long-term changes that make them affordable for the country and the next generation which has to pay for them.

Taking this long-view approach would allow the parties to leap over the short-term fights regarding Obamacare and lock in place policies that will ultimately lead to a fundamental correction in course.

The second part of the agreement is an all-out commitment to produce fundamental tax reform.  The template for this is already in place, via the Simpson-Bowles Commission. It gives both sides what they need in a dramatic and effective way: Much lower rates for Republicans  and progressivity for Democrats. Such an approach would, in all likelihood, also produce a lot more revenue through growth and the elimination of special deductions and exemptions.

Both sides could back this approach. Instead of the president hitting the campaign trail and the Republicans picking procedural battles, the two sides could actually work together and make the country work too.

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"My Views" are works published by members of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, but they do not necessarily reflect the views of all members of the committee.