Today’s hearing offers a timely reminder of the difference between the fantasyland of Washington, D.C. and the reality of the rest of America. 

Here in fantasyland, we’ll discuss adding one more multi-billion dollar entitlement program.  This would be on top of the new higher education entitlement program created this year, and of course our current health care and retirement entitlement programs, whose looming insolvency recently led President Obama to admit “we’re broke.”  

But we’re actually worse than broke.  We’re massively in debt, and it’s getting deeper every day.  USA Today reported last week that in 2008 the average U.S. household owed almost 550 thousand dollars in Federal debt.  That’s four times what the same average household owes in mortgage, car loans, credit card, and other debt combined.  And that’s before this year’s trillion-dollar orgy of so-called stimulus spending.  

Meanwhile, in the real world, the recession is forcing States to cut current spending.  In California, the Governor proposes eliminating the welfare-to-work program and health insurance for nearly one million low-income kids.  After their 2009 budgets passed, 42 States enacted emergency spending cuts, totaling 32 billion dollars.[1]  These are not minor adjustments. 

Yet the legislation we will discuss today breezily assumes States will find 3 billion dollars in new money over the next decade to finance their part of this new entitlement.  Where will that money come from?  Pixie dust?  

I don’t often agree with Robert Greenstein, the head of the liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.  But last week in the New York Times he said: “A budget tsunami is coming.  That threat should be taken a hell of a lot more seriously than it is now.”  In the current budget crisis he “called for scrapping marginal programs to save the most essential.”  

Today we are ignoring that coming tsunami, and strolling along the beach contemplating another program. 

Several of our witnesses will discuss how some home visitation programs have shown some positive effects.  We know that from programs already operating, often with Federal and State program money.  But obviously our colleagues think it’s not enough, because it’s never enough.