No one knows for sure how America’s economy will react to a drastic pullback on spending and employment because it hasn’t been done for two generations.
We urge caution as the White House rapidly cuts jobs and programs, but such prudence likely must come from Congress. After decades of being unable to cut the deficit and begin paying down the debt, now is the moment for Congress to rise to the occasion and replace the sledgehammer being wielded by the White House with something more artful, such as a ball pein.
U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper – two long-time fiscal moderates with bipartisan credentials — should lead a charge. The likelihood of two Democrats succeeding when Republicans have the House and Senate is low, but it’s better than the alternative of crying about Elon Musk being unelected.
Shutting down the U.S. government in protest of the cuts, will only make matters worse for federal employees and anyone in need of services from the U.S. government. Democrats who agree that the U.S. can’t sustain this level of spending and Republicans with concerns about the president’s approach can unite around legislation that begins the slow retraction of money from the U.S. economy.
Bold, meaningful cuts are needed. But indiscriminate slashing that harms more Americans than it helps is a blatantly cruel and vengeful act by the Trump administration. Congress, which holds the purse strings, is at fault for not wielding its power.
There are reasons to worry that President Donald Trump’s rescission plans could hit Colorado hard in the coming months. There are about 57,000 federal workers in Colorado. Let’s assume the state’s strong job market could easily absorb 10% to 15% of those employees losing their jobs as long as things remain stable in other parts of our economy. Gov. Jared Polis issued a press release of support for laid-off workers, outlining how they could file for the state’s unemployment insurance to cover some of their lost wages while they look for another job. He also noted that the state has 60,000 job openings at the moment.
That won’t work, however, if federal funding to states is also drastically slashed and the state finds itself cutting jobs and freezing hiring as well, or if tariffs impact businesses in the private sector and cause layoffs.
Far less easy to absorb will be the commercial real estate that could be vacated. The Denver Post reported last week that the federal government rents 4.1 million square feet of commercial real estate in this state and that 90% of that is in Denver, Larimer, Jefferson, Arapahoe, El Paso, Boulder and Adams counties.
Terminated leases will add empty commercial real estate space to a market already struggling to rebound from the change to work from home.
Our military bases employ thousands of civilians alongside thousands of enlisted members. Colorado is also home to significant military contractors, meaning cuts to the Department of Defense spending are likely to ripple through our private sector as well.
Colorado is also home to a base of scientists who work for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Boulder, the National Renewable Energy Lab in Golden and the Geologic Hazards Science Center in Golden.
Bennet and Hickenlooper should lead Colorado’s House members in a thoughtful response to the cuts. If Democrats don’t come forward with their own proposal for eliminating the deficit over time, then Republicans will only be emboldened to continue with this executive branch power-grab.
For example, Congress can easily push back on the 7,000 Internal Revenue Service employees laid off last Thursday across the nation. Cutting staff from the IRS likely will not save money as the IRS is one department that largely pays its own way by recovering unpaid taxes from people who either accidentally or intentionally underpay. If layoffs aren’t going to actually net the federal government money, there is no way to justify them.
Congress could pass legislation requiring the White House to restore the IRS to full funding and the full employment levels necessary to enforce our tax laws. Whether or not Republicans would ever agree to such a pushback on policy from the White House is another question. The GOP has also spent the last 10 years unfairly vilifying IRS employees.
Americans expect Congress to exercise its constitutional duty to check the powers of the White House. The last time Congress attempted to put its foot down on Trump’s actions was over funding for the border wall, and in a show of weakness, lawmakers backed down.
America didn’t rack up $36 trillion in debt in a year, and we shouldn’t try to pay it all off in a single president’s administration. Eliminating the $1.83 trillion deficit (which has only grown since last fiscal year) may not even be possible without tax increases. Trump has said he plans to use tariffs to that effect, which will only work if Americans are still spending money on discretionary goods.
We need a long-term plan to stabilize our finances without tanking our economy. Colorado’s elected leaders need to step up now with a plan of their own that pushes back on this reckless approach to cutting spending.
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