Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., made a stark comparison, equating the House’s reconciliation bill to the ill-fated Titanic. The Wisconsin senator is confident that this ‘big, beautiful bill’ will meet the same fate as the infamous ship-sinking due to unsustainable fiscal practices.”, he told Politico.
Now, let’s say that Johnson’s comparison has merit. Last week, he expressed a lack of optimism about the bill’s chance of passing by July 4, citing “spending levels” as the icebergs in its path. Congressional Republicans are making efforts to cut $1.5 trillion in spending, while Johnson advocates for a return to pre-pandemic levels of spending, a move that would entail a $6.5 trillion cut. By definition, this is a return to fiscal responsibility.
Johnson is spot on when he highlights the “unprecedented level of increased spending” post-COVID-19. The federal government, under the Trump administration, must “get serious about returning to a reasonable pre-pandemic level, spending just like every American family would do, live within your means”, he argues. This is a call to fiscal sanity that everyone, regardless of party affiliations, should heed.
The senator doesn’t stop there. He advises Congress to pass smaller bills, including a permanent extension of the 2017 tax cuts and a short-term increase to the debt ceiling. Despite these being rejected by Trump, these represent rational economic measures designed to calm economic uncertainties – uncertainties he attributes to reckless spending and Trump’s tariffs.
Johnson is correct in his assessment. The metaphor of the ‘Titanic’ is fitting for a bill that seems to be on a collision course with fiscal disaster. Congress and the Trump administration must heed this warning and take decisive steps to steer the ship away from the iceberg. As Johnson rightly points out, the whole tariff and trade war has created unnecessary instability. It’s high time we calm that down.
We need to get serious about our fiscal health, or we risk sinking like the Titanic.