Update: Tax cuts, government programs, national debt. Making sense of fiscal policy | Opinion

Update: This online forum has been moved to noon on Friday, May 16, because of a scheduling conflict for one of the speakers.

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“You never know what is enough unless you know what is more than enough.” —William Blake, 1790.

It seems whenever our national elections result in a change of parties, the economic policy that drives our federal budget completely flips: from Carter to Reagan; from G.W. Bush to Obama to Trump to Biden; and now back to Trump.

How can we make sense of these U-turns? How do we get beyond sound bites and political slogans that float like icebergs in murky economic waters?

The Columbia Basin Badger Club will offer an online program beginning at noon May 16 to address these questions.

We know each year the President and Congress haggle over a budget that includes both mandatory and discretionary spending — social services, the military, and so on. We know these expenses draw on appropriations from either tax collections or borrowing, which essentially means printing money, thus adding to the national debt.

At least since Reagan, Republicans have stressed that free market, supply-side strategies — tax cuts and deregulation — are the path to prosperity. While these policies may increase the Gross Domestic Product, deregulation can stumble — consider how subprime housing loans caused the 2008 Great Recession.

Democrats (FDR, Obama) have typically responded to economic downturns by legislating government stimulus programs. Based on the Keynesian model, cash is injected into the economy through public works to increase demand.

As U.S. treasuries held steady in the world market, Democrats and Republicans alike turned a wary, but ultimately dismissive eye toward deficits and expanded the ever-increasing national debt, now totaling more than $36 trillion.

We’re faced with two philosophies of fiscal policy that live in constant, dynamic tension with one another. More crucially, did they work? Were they the appropriate measures at the time: did they expand markets, reduce inflation, increase employment? How might we determine which approach is best in the future?

Our Badger forum will feature two speakers who bring a historical perspective of the economic policies and effectiveness of recent administrations

• Todd Myers, vice president for research of the Washington Policy Center, will address the principles underlying Republican supply-side policies, and to what extent they worked.
• Steve Scranton, chief economist for Washington Trust Bank, will similarly discuss the strategies and effectiveness of the Keynesian model as applied by recent Democratic administrations.

(Please note: the speakers’ historical analyses do not necessarily reflect the view of their respective institutions.)

You can register for this event at columbiabasinbadgers.com to receive a confirmation and links to join the Zoom forum. You will be able to pose questions during a Q&A segment, and a half-hour Table Talk open-mic session will follow.

Cost is $5 for nonmembers, while club members can join for free.

This story was originally published May 8, 2025 at 5:00 AM.