Do We Need Politicians to Take a "No Debt Increase" Pledge?

As Grover Norquist's anti-tax pledge seems to be losing its force, Jonathan Bydlak at National Review argues it was never enough:

Imagine if instead of pledging not to raise taxes, all those politicians had pledged not to raise spending….That's why it's important to do for spending what Norquist has done for taxes: create a means for voters to hold elected officials accountable when they break campaign promises of fiscal responsibility.

…Given our ever-mounting debt, it is incumbent on all of us who care about the future prosperity of this country to reexamine the completeness of Norquist's approach. We have to look at more than the tax side of the equation.

Fortunately, some in Washington are taking aim at our political sacred cows. Doug Collins, Representative-elect from Georgia, and Ted Cruz, Senator-elect from Texas, both pledged to voters this cycle that they consider all items in the budget eligible for reduction. By signing the Reject the Debt pledge in addition to the taxpayers-protection pledge, they will vote against not only tax increases now but also spending increases that would amount to future tax burdens.

As one columnist recently wrote, "From now on, any politician who signs the anti-tax pledge without also signing the anti-debt pledge can be dismissed as a complete hypocrite." The companion to Norquist's no-tax pledge is the Reject the Debt pledge. Elected officials need to sign both.

Nick Gillespie from last week on why spending drives deficits.