A Long-Term Financial Commitment of the US - Assignment Example

Knoop explains that the United s has a long term fiscal commitment that is unsustainable. The debt burden of United States is not sustainable, and it continues to grow. The burden of sustaining this debt will result in to an increase in the spending of the federal government. This has forced the US government to initiate a series of measures aimed at rectifying the debt burden of the United States. One such measure is the creation of a committee responsible for finding ways to solve the debt deficit problems of United States. This committee came into existence through the enactment of the 2011 budget control act (Vanderveen, 2013). The main intention of coming up with this act was to prevent the emergence of a sovereign default which could have emanated from the 2011 US debt ceiling crisis. The main objective of this committee was for purposes of developing a deficit reduction plan over a 10 year period (Vanderveen, 2013). Any recommendations that the committee gave was subject to a simple vote of majority in the legislature. This is without an amendment. The main purpose of introducing these extraordinary provisions was for purposes of limiting a partisan gridlock amongst the members of the congress. The main aim of the 2011 Budget Control Act was to reduce at least 1.5 trillion dollars of the US debts over the next 10 years. This paper analysis the public policy views of Max Weber in regard to the current fiscal situation of the United States. Max Weber is an important scholar who has written extensively on bureaucracy (Edwards, 2007). This paper therefore analyzes the bureaucratic believes of Max Weber in relation to the current fiscal situation of the United States. One of the major ideas that Weber and Weber (2012) believed is the notion of people acting as a basis of social inquiry. Weber believed that sociologists need to connect with social actors with the main intention of understanding a given problem and situation. The fiscal situation in United States is a social as well as an economic issue (Vanderveen, 2013). To understand the reasons why the US has a huge debt deficit, the government had to create the joint select committee on debt deficit. This institution was answerable to the congress, and it had to provide recommendations on how to solve the current US fiscal situation. This institution is a social actor, and it acted as an organization responsible for conducting social inquiry. The committee had a mandate until 23rd of November 2011. The mandate was to looks for methods and means of reducing at least 1.5 trillion of US debts, over the coming ten years. The areas that the committee examined for the government to take action in reducing debts includes raising of taxes, increasing other areas of getting revenue by the government, initiating a series of tax reforms, and examples includes simplification of the tax codes, and elimination of tax loopholes and tax breaks (Vanderveen, 2013). Other measures that the organization proposed included reducing the amount of money the Federal government spends on the military, reforming and slowing down an increase in the growth of entitlement programs such as Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security. While collecting information, this committee had to engage in a social inquiry process. Weber and Weber (2012) explains that a social inquiry process is a major method that government institutions use to collect information about a specific issue . In this case, the congress committee on deficit reduction was responsible for collecting information by hearing the views of economic experts, and the public, and coming up with recommendations aimed at solving the American debt problem. Furthermore Weber believed that it is important to analyze the historical background of a situation, before developing policies aimed at solving the problem under consideration (Edwards, 2007). Historical analysis of a problem is a major technique that policy formulators use, with the intention of understanding a problem. In analyzing the historical causes of the US debt crisis, Knoop (2013) explains that a variety of factors led to the emergence of these debts. One prominent cause is the 2003 and 2001 Bush tax cuts. These tax cuts have led to the development of 1.6 trillion dollars in the debts that the US incurred. Furthermore, the government used debts to finance some of these taxes. Another major cause of the emergence of these debts is the health care entitlements that the Federal government was issuing. This includes programs such as Medicaid, and other health care benefits. These programs led to an increase of about 1.1 trillion dollars by the Federal government. To sustain these programs, the government had to borrow money from the domestic and international markets. Other major cause of the US debt crisis is the emergence of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, where the government had to spend Trillions of dollars sustaining these wars. Having a clear understanding of these issues will provide policy makers on the best tools to use in addressing this fiscal situation of the US (Edwards, 2007). President Bush faced a lot of criticism for the wars he initiated in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is because this war did cost the United States a significant amount of money, which is partly attributed to the economic recession that the US faced in 2007 to 2008. Furthermore, in a bid to restructure and protect the economy, President Obama initiated a series of stimulus programs. These programs did cost the US a lot of money, and a large percentage of this money was borrowed. Historical analysis of the fiscal situation in America was also used in developing a recommendation on the debt situation of the United States. For example, the congress committee on debt reduction had a duty of finding ways to reduce the health care entitlements, and spending on the defense (Knoop, 2013). These are historical causes of the US debt crisis. Max Weber maintains that for a public service to achieve efficiency in whatever they do, each function has to be undertaken by a professional. This is a major characteristic of a bureaucracy. Max Weber further asserts that a bureaucracy carries out its functions by observing rules. The same is denoted of the fiscal situation in the United States. In solving the financial problem of the country, the government resorted to the creation of rules and legislations (Knoop, 2013). The 2011 budget control act is an example of these rules that the government created for purposes of solving the debt crisis that the country was facing. This piece of legislation is attributed to have helped the government in reducing the debts and containing the debts that the government had. This is by balancing the debts of the government, and creating a committee charged with the responsibility of finding ways to reduce the country’s debt burden. In conclusion, Max Weber argues that it is necessary for the government to initiate a social action, for purposes of solving problems that it faces. It is the social actors who are responsible for gathering information and data regarding a particular problem. This is better depicted through the creation of the committee responsible for reducing debts. This committee comprises of economic professionals, and they had to talk to experts and the public for purposes of finding a solution to the debt crisis of the US. For a better solution to be developed, Weber argues that there is a need of conducting an historical analysis of the problem. This involves identifying the historical issues that led to the emergence of the problem under consideration. Weber further argues that rules and procedures play an important role in solving a situation or a problem. This is depicted when the US government formed the 2011 debt control act. References: Edwards, S. (2007). Capital controls and capital flows in emerging economies policies, practices, and consequences. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Knoop, T. (2013). Global Finance in Emerging Market Economies. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis. Vanderveen, C. (2013). Federal tax debts: reporting proposals and the IRS collection process. New York: Nova Science Publishers. Weber, M., & Weber, M. (2012). The Protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism. New York: Routledge. Read More