On the recordJuly 25, 2019
Madam President, on another matter--this is on deficits. I am not in the habit of commenting on every opinion issued by newspapers I don't typically agree with, but this week, the Wall Street Journal wrote such a howler of an editorial that I feel compelled to. The Wall Street Journal editorial board criticized the latest budget agreement for its increase in domestic spending, wringing its hands over the effect on deficits, while simultaneously praising defense spending, which the editorial board believes, for some reason, has nothing to do with deficits. This, by the way, is the same editorial board that played head cheerleader for the Republican tax bill, which contained such mammoth tax cuts for the biggest corporations and the already wealthy that it will add $2 trillion to our deficits--$2 trillion. Huge tax cuts contributed more to the deficit than all of these spending programs put together, but the Wall Street Journal cheered on the tax cuts and now says: Don't spend for the middle class on things like education and infrastructure that have broad support in America and helping kids go to college. Don't spend on that because it increases the deficit, but it is OK to pass massive tax cuts for the rich and the big corporations that are already profitable. So, for the sake of the record, the Wall Street Journal editorial board believes deficits are really bad but only if they are caused by investments in Americans' healthcare or education or infrastructure.…





