When communists tell you to rein in government spending . . .

Contributed by: filbert Tuesday, June 07 2011 @ 01:41 AM CST

. . . you should probably seriously consider reining in government spending.

James Pethokoukis, in Reuters[*1] :

So my advice to the spending hawks on Capitol Hill — of both parties — is to listen to China, stand firm and get something big in return for raising the debt limit. At minimum this would be getting at least $1 in spending cuts for every $1 increase in the debt ceiling, along with the spending caps found in the McCaskill-Corker bill. Even former Clinton economist Alice Rivlin thinks raising the debt ceiling should be linked to a long-term budget plan.

Personally, I’d hold out for $2 in real budget cuts for every $1 in debt ceiling increase, but I’m kind of a budget “hawk” anyway. Actually, my opening position would be about $4 in real budget cuts PLUS $1 reduction in the debt ceiling. That would, in my opinion, be most fiscally responsible–cut spending AND use most of the spending cuts to reduce the debt.

When Communists tell you your government is spending too much, then your government is spending too much. Period.