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Balanced budget talk may be just talk

Many Americans are finally waking up to the damage being done by the $18 trillion national debt, both now and to future generations. Control of Congress by conservative Republicans provides some hope of curbing the deficit spending that continues to add to the debt.

Just last week, the new GOP chairman of the Senate Budget Committee said he hopes to craft a plan to ensure balanced budgets within 10 years.

Trouble is, we’ve heard it all before. Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress and the White House pledge frequently to end deficit spending. They promptly find reasons it can’t be done.

Budget Committee Chairman Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyoming, seems sincere. He said a balanced budget plan will be achieved “without gimmicks and bad accounting.”

Let’s hope so. But even if a blueprint to end deficit spending is prepared, it will signify nothing, really. Washington is a place where such plans are meant to be publicized, then forgotten. Unless voters hold future presidents and lawmakers to balanced budgets – resisting the temptation of new government programs – the debt burden will merely increase.

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