WaPo editorial: Democrats' 'just-fund-everything approach' could add trillions to national debt

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The Washington Post editorial board implored Congressional Democrats to take full advantage of the opportunity to ambitiously push through a "historic reshaping of the federal government" while they hold power, but to pay for their reforms and not throw the federal budget "further out of whack." 

In a Sunday editorial, The Post's left-leaning board largely voiced support for Democratic efforts to address issues concerning expanding entitlements, but frowned upon some of the proposals, claiming they shouldn't be a priority because they benefited the wealthy. 

"House Democrats last week took a big step toward what could be a historic reshaping of the federal government, approving a $3.5 trillion reconciliation budget resolution that would permit Democrats to press through new social programs on party-line votes," the board wrote. "Chances such as these do not come often in U.S. politics."

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The board claimed that Republicans did something similar when they controlled both houses of Congress four years ago and scolded them for passing deficit-increasing tax cuts.

It added that, "by contrast," Democrats should used their moment in control to address wealth inequality, the social safety net and climate change. It listed a number of initiatives it thought would be ambitious, including making the boost in the child tax credit permanent, expanding the earned income tax credit, making temporary changes that "strengthened" Obamacare permanent and closing the Medicaid gap. 

The board didn't go into specifics as to how those changes should be paid for or how they would potentially affect the budget. 

"There is much in the Democrats’ outline that makes less sense. They want to make community college free for everyone, even wealthy students," the board wrote. "Pumping up Pell grants or other need-based aid would better target money toward those who need help, and it could go toward four-year as well as two-year degrees."

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It claimed that lowering the eligibility age for Medicare would likely benefit higher-income earners, but that some seniors could use additional benefits under Medicare. 

"Extending these generous new entitlements to wealthy beneficiaries should not be a priority," it added. 

"Taking the just-fund-everything approach, the trillions add up quickly," the board wrote, before citing the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget in estimating that the $3.5 trillion budget resolution could actually cost up to $5.5 trillion more when adjusting for "accounting gimmicks." 

"Along with the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill the Senate recently passed, that could add some $4.3 trillion to the debt over a decade," it added. 

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"Democrats should better prioritize their policies and find credible pay-fors to better cover the cost. Washington will need more money to respond to the next recession, climate change, another pandemic or unforeseen events. As Democrats commit vast amounts of the nation’s fiscal headroom, the country needs them to get this right," the board wrote.