Echo from Oklahoma in Tulsa World - Trump tax cuts increasing the national deficit

"In Rep. Hern's wrong minded editorial column, he did not mention or acknowledge the loss of federal revenue due to the 2017 federal tax bill."

CNBC reports - Only 6 percent of taxpayers plan to flitter away their refunds by taking a vacation or going on a shopping spree, according to a new survey by Bankrate.com. 

Meanwhile, more than a third of people will save or invest their tax windfall and 27 percent will use it to pay down debt.

So, in other words,  those who are receiving a 2018 tax return are not spending it. This is not good.

As a person of an age who can remember the Graham-Rudman balanced budget legislation of the 1980s, I read with interest the Rep. Kevin Hern’s (Oklahoma 1st District) column that discussed the federal budget, the federal deficit and the federal debt ("Without a budget, Democrats are flying blind," April 7 - a wrong minded point of view, IMO).

All budgets have two main components: expenditures and revenues.

In the federal budget, large expenditures include national defense, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and interest on the federal debt. A primary source of revenue is federal taxes.

In Hern's editorial column, he did not mention or acknowledge the loss of federal revenue *tax cuts for the rich* caused by the 2017 federal tax bill.

This loss of tax revenue is contributing significantly to the accelerating federal deficit and debt. The federal tax bill did not include a mechanism that would suspend the tax cuts if the federal deficit or federal debt reached specified maximum values.

The 2017, tax bill addressed the federal deficit and debt and the goal of a balanced budget with a promise of increased revenue.

Like Rep. Hern, one of my fundamental beliefs is that if there are expenditures, then they must be paid for.

If there is too little revenue for federal expenditures, then revenues must be increased by raising taxes on the rich people who received a tax break.  

From Charlie Transue, Tulsa Oklahoma

MaineWriter post script- Americans must protect the entitlements we have paid for with our hard earned contributions to our Social Security and Medicare funds, paid through our employment years. Representative Hern must call for the rich to pay more and for the middle class safety fiscal nets to be protected.