President Obama says Republicans are not playing fair in the debt negotiations. He says Democrats are willing to allow spending cuts, but Republicans need to put tax hikes on the table. In other words, Dems will only do a good thing (cut government spending) if Republicans agree to a bad thing (tax hikes). This makes sense assuming that (1) tax hikes won’t hurt the “recovery,” and (2) we’re not taking in enough money (as if $2 trillion-plus in annual revenue is not enough).
Neither of these things is true, and the president knows it–or ought to. Not only shouldn’t we raise taxes; we need to keep the debt ceiling where it is (or even lower it). Ten years ago, our federal deficit was about $200 billion. Today, with slightly higher revenue, it’s $1.5 trillion. Our red ink problem must be addressed with spending cuts, not tax hikes.
About Stan Guthrie
Stan Guthrie is an editor at large for Christianity Today magazine and for the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview. His latest book is God's Story in 66 Verses. He also is author of All that Jesus Asks: How His Questions Can Teach and Transform Us, Missions in the Third Millennium: 21 Key Trends for the 21st Century, and A Concise Guide to Bible Prophecy. He is co-author of The Sacrament of Evangelism. Besides authoring, writing, and editing books, Stan is a literary agent, bringing together good authors, good books, and good publishers.
Stan writes the monthly Priorities colum for BreakPoint.org. He has appeared on National Public Radio's Tell Me More, WGN's Milt Rosenberg program, and many Christian shows, including The Eric Metaxas Show and Moody Radio's New Day Florida. A licensed minister and an inspirational speaker, he served as moderator for the Christian Book Expo panel discussion, Does the God of Christianity Exist, and What Difference Does It Make?
