Yesterday, the Heritage Foundation released a new version of its so-called “Blueprint for Balance.” Like its predecessor, this iteration reveals a profound misunderstanding of how the world really works. It is a plan for unilateral disarmament in a hostile economic world. To foster an innovative and competitive economy in a turbulent and sometimes hostile world, the United States government must have access to an array of tools and use them judiciously. Heritage’s kit contains only one tool: the axe.
It would be very unfortunate if the Trump administration and Congress were to rely on this document in preparing the fiscal 2018 budget, as has been widely reported. The United States has suffered from underinvestment, both public and private, for more than a decade. This combined failure of the public and private sectors to invest sufficiently is undermining the national economy. All sectors in American society need to work together to revitalize research, technology, industry, education, and infrastructure. Crippling key functions of the federal government, which would be the consequence of adopting Heritage’s “Blueprint,” will set the nation back even further.
For more on this issue, see our recent reports:
