Digging the Hole DeeperBy Charlie Stenholm

It was either Garfield or Confucius who first said, “When you find yourself in a hole, the first thing you do is stop digging.” If only Congress – which holds the government’s purse strings – would put the shovel down. If only.

We learned late last week that Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) has named Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and committee member Gordon Smith (R-OR) as its “porkers of the month” for their efforts to expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). While no one argues the need to take care of children

the Senate Finance Committee, led by Chairman Baucus, approved a $35 billion expansion of the program, making families earning as much as $61,950 eligible for coverage.  To pay for the increased spending, Sen. Smith proposed, and the committee adopted, a 156 percent increase in the cigarette excise tax (61 cents per pack).  Ironically, excise taxes fall heaviest on the working poor - exactly those whom SCHIP is supposed to help.

Social Security (FICA) taxes already hit low-wage workers the hardest. They also are more likely to depend on Social Security because they have fewer discretionary dollars to sock away for their retirement. SCHIP hits these folks when they’re already down.

Congress keeps on digging. And the working poor are getting buried – in more and more debt.