Hypocrite of the Day: Sen. Ron Johnson Asks “Is This Any Way to Run a Budget?”
Senator Ron Johnson (R, WI) has budget concerns. So do I.
Is This Any Way to Run a Budget?
Ron Johnson asks Is This Any Way to Run a Budget?
The 535 members of Congress could be considered the board of directors, and the news media as the watchdog auditor, of a financial entity that spends more than $7 trillion a year. Yet when I asked my colleagues and the media a few years ago during an omnibus spending debate how much the federal government spent in total, no one offered an answer. My guess is most simply didn’t know because we never talk about it and there is no formal process to review total spending. We appropriate less than 25% of total federal outlays in any given year, and the rest, mandatory spending and entitlements, is on autopilot.
This lack of attention has allowed spending to soar 63%, from $4,447 billion in fiscal 2019 to a projected $7,266 billion in fiscal 2025. In January on these pages I proposed three options for returning to a more reasonable pre-pandemic level of spending. All used projected 2025 spending for Social Security, Medicare and interest. Other spending in these baseline options was adjusted to account for population growth and inflation. Adjusting Bill Clinton’s 1998, Barack Obama’s 2014 and Donald Trump’s 2019 total outlays results in baseline budgets of $5,496 billion, $6,199 billion and $6,496 billion, respectively. The Senate budget resolution used Mr. Trump’s 2021 budget projection for 2025, yielding a baseline amount of $6,061 billion.
Since we’ve already accounted for population growth and inflation in all these options, why are we spending $770 billion to $1.77 trillion above these previous years’ population- and inflation-adjusted outlays? In the private sector, that is exactly what business managers would have to explain to upper management in a line-by-line budget review. We should apply the same rigorous examination to federal spending.
The election of President Trump and Republican majorities in the House and Senate have given America a historic chance to reduce the size, scope and cost of the federal government. With federal debt totaling $36.4 trillion and interest expense exceeding defense spending, it’s vital that the U.S. seize this opportunity.
Ron Johnson Flashbacks
Flashback December 24, 2022: ‘This Has To Stop—We Can’t Continue This Way’: Ron Johnson Rips Omnibus Process
Flashback December 18, 2024: On Wednesday’s “Newsline,” Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson said he will not be voting in favor of the continuing resolution to keep the government funded.
Continuing Resolution Senate Vote March 14, 2025
The above image from Continuing Resolution Roll Call Vote 119th Congress – 1st Session
What About the House?
On March 6, U.S. Representative Massie Votes Against Continuing Resolution
Today, Congressman Thomas Massie voted against H.R. 933, the Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the federal government until September of this year.
“This Continuing Resolution perpetuates an unbalanced budget, and allows the federal government to spend more money than it did last year,” said Rep. Massie. “I cannot vote for a bill that funds Obamacare and keeps the deficit over $1 trillion.”
Trump Continues to Attack Massie Ahead of Vote
On March 11, Politico reported Trump Continues to Attack Massie Ahead of Vote
In a Truth Social post Tuesday, Trump labels Massie as a “Congressman” and a grandstander. It follows a message Monday where Trump suggested Massie should be primaried — saying he would “lead the charge” against Massie in the upcoming midterm election and comparing the Kentucky Republican to former Rep. Liz Cheney.
Massie has been adamantly against the CR and has vowed to vote against it. “Unless I get a lobotomy Monday that causes me to forget what I’ve witnessed the past 12 years, I’ll be a NO on the CR this week,” Massie wrote on X on Sunday.
Hypocrites Unite
Ultimately, Massie was the only Republican in the House to vote nay. The CR passed by 1 vote when hypocrite Chip Roy caved under pressure.
Well done Thomas Massie and Rand Paul.
All of the rest of the Republicans are flat out budget hypocrites. So is President Trump. Trump hides under preposterous tariff theories and DOGE lies.
New Economic Theory
On March 18, I commented New Economic Theory “Tariffs Are a Tax Cut for the American People”
Please consider an amazing statement by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Lutnick Says Tariffs Can Eliminate the IRS and Balance the Budget
On March 12, I noted Lutnick Says Tariffs Can Eliminate the IRS and Balance the Budget
Lutnick: “We’re going to make the External Revenue Service replace the Internal Revenue Service.”
I ran the math on that ludicrous idea. Team Trump only needs to bring in $7 trillion in tariffs on $3.3 trillion in total imports.
Then we need to faithfully collect 200 percent tariffs on everything with of no trade frictions, no retaliations, and full compliance.
See above link for detailed analysis.
Trump Wants a Weak Dollar But Needs a Strong One
On March 16, I commented Trump Wants a Weak Dollar But Needs a Strong One
Trump wants the Fed to cut interest rates to weaken the dollar and boost exports. But that’s not what helped him get elected.
Trumperland Economics
Welcome to Trumperland economics where tariffs are a tax cut.
Trump simultaneously promotes a strong and weak dollar, and proposes we collect huge tariffs while reducing imports.
We will allegedly balance the budget by running huge deficits while having a Detox recession and not having recession.
In Trumperland, contradictions have no meaning, so this is entirely possible.
No one in the administration is willing to challenge this nonsense. Only one in the Senate and one in the House are willing.
To answer hypocrite Rion Johnson’s question, No, Ron, it’s not.
Congrats to Representative Thomas Massie and Senator Rand Paul.
