The next coronavirus stimulus bill should not be used as a bailout for poor financial decisions governors made before the pandemic, Sen. Ted Cruz told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Wednesday.
“I don’t see any reason why the people of Texas should have to pay higher taxes to bail out states that have been irresponsible,” Cruz said. “If we’re focused on dealing with the coronavirus crisis, fine, but it shouldn’t be an excuse to bail out states for fiscal irresponsibility and fiscally reckless policies that long preceded the coronavirus pandemic.”
Cruz specifically cited the "Illinois unfunded pension liability [which is $241 billion, the highest in the nation] and that was caused by politicians who were just buying votes."
The Texas senator did concede that a massive drop in state and local taxes due to the shutdown of so many businesses during the crisis is a serious concern.
"There is a reasonable case to be made for greater flexibility with the money we have already sent to the states and local governments,” Cruz said, particularly the ability to spend that money on law enforcement needs.
However, he did point out that federal tax revenues are also down, “and it’s not like there is a magic money tree in Washington that is producing this money. This is money we’re just borrowing and at some point the solution has to be recovery and getting people back to work.”
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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