Marco Rubio Proposes Economic Nonsense

Marco Rubio continues to be unserious about policy. Rubio proposes a constitutional amendment requiring the budget be balanced. Rubio also wants all future taxes to require 67 Senate votes. A constitutional amendment would require 67 Senate votes and 2/3 of the state voters to approve. The Senate votes aren't there and if they was the amendment would take at least 20 years to pass. Requiring all new taxes to pass by a 67 Senate vote would require changing the Senate rules. Which would also require 67 votes.

These aren't solutions Rubio is proposing. These are conservative wishlist fantasies. I remember the Florida state deficit growing under Rubio's House speakership. Rubio never proposed a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget. Furthermore, a balance budget solution is dumb. If Florida actually did have a balanced budget amendment the state would not be able to run. Conservatives can scream about government spending. Conservatives will feel differently when the Florida government doesn't borrow money to keep schools open, pay for law enforcement officers or repair roads.

I like to see how Rubio plans to balance the federal budget during two wars and a recession. Does Rubio plan on cutting military spending? How about entitlement programs such as Medicare? Senior citizens will vote Republicans out if there are drastic Medicare cuts. The federal government is bringing in historically low tax revenue. There is no way to balance the budget without making unpopular cuts.

Correction: something I knew but a reader reminded me in my post. The Florida Constitution does require a balanced budger. The state has gotten around that with clever accounting and borrowing money.