December 10, 2012
Addressing the Moral Concern of Deficits through
Principle,
Not Politics
A Statement on the Fiscal Cliff from
Gradye Parsons, Stated
Clerk of the General Assembly
I write as Congress
considers a solution to the so-called fiscal cliff. The fiscal decisions we make at the national
level indicate where our priorities are as a community. So, I urge members of Congress, as well as
President Obama and his Administration, to put first and foremost in their
negotiations those people who are already struggling with poverty, inequality,
and injustice.
In 2008, the
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly said of the U.S. budget crisis:
“creat[ing] ever-increasing debt and unfunded or underfunded obligations for
future generations of Americans are a grave moral concern as well as a clear
danger to the republic.” The same
Assembly further “call[ed] upon the church and the nation to study the policies
and practices that have created this grave moral and economic crisis, to repent
of the sins of greed and of stealing from future generations who cannot defend
themselves, and to call upon our citizens and national leaders to make the
sacrifices necessary to begin to solve this problem before it is too late.”
I, therefore, urge
Congress to address this grave concern of long-term deficits by making
decisions based on principle rather than politics. We abhor the prospect of leaving a legacy of
mounting debt to future generations, and likewise believe that it would be
equally irresponsible to leave the same descendants a legacy of increasing
poverty and inequality.
It is clear that we
cannot achieve comprehensive, just, deficit reduction only by cutting spending.
Even significantly re-envisioning our military priorities, which is also
essential, will not be enough. We must
have new federal revenues to address our long-term deficits – new revenue that
must be raised through a more progressive tax code. In this way, we can both reduce our federal
deficit and ensure adequate resources to make necessary investments for future
generations.
We further challenge the
notion that entitlement reform must contribute to deficit reduction. We believe that Social Security, Medicare,
and Medicaid are part of our social insurance system, a compact between generations
that must be preserved for future beneficiaries, as well as current ones. The goal of any reform to these essential
programs must be their long-term fiscal sustainability and improved efficiency. Should deficit reduction result from
well-intentioned reform – all the better – but these programs are not the
primary contributors to the deficit, nor should they be primary sources for
deficit reduction. Again, we believe that the grave
moral concern of the federal deficit must be addressed in a balanced and
comprehensive way.
As Presbyterians, we are
anxious that our national decisions reflect our commitments as a people. We are
called by a loving and gracious God to be our brothers’ and sisters’
keepers. We know that we are responsible
to each other and, as the Gospel of Luke teaches us, “from everyone to whom
much has been given, much will be required.”
We, therefore, urge a solution to the fiscal cliff and federal deficit
that ensures long-term fiscal stability; deficit reduction; just, new revenue;
long-term integrity for entitlement programs; and a priority on the most
vulnerable in society.
