Fiscal Responsibility
"Gone are the days when public officials are measured by how much they spend on a problem…public officials are now judged on whether they can work harder and smarter, and do more with less." – George V. Voinovich
As a former mayor and governor, Sen. Voinovich understands the importance of making difficult budgetary decisions when necessary. As mayor of Cleveland, he led a dramatic turn-around effort, which brought the city out of bankruptcy. As governor, he presided over the slowest growth rate of government spending in three decades, cut more than $2 billion in taxes and set aside a $1 billion rainy-day fund for state emergencies.
Today, as a United States Sen., George V. Voinovich is faced with making spending decisions that will not only have short-term benefits, but also long-term costs.
The national debt has increased from $5.4 trillion when Sen. Voinovich came to the Senate in 1999 to $10.52 trillion in today – an increase of 95 percent and over $30,000 for every American alive today. But these numbers pale in comparison with the budget problems looming as the Baby Boomers retire. In today’s dollars, we face a long-term fiscal imbalance of $54 trillion; that’s $177,000 for every citizen or $372,000 for every worker.
As the Senate's leading "debt hawk," Sen. Voinovich believes that our nation cannot continue to spend uncontrollably and reduce revenue under the assumption that our children and grandchildren will pay for it tomorrow. Sen. Voinovich believes we should undertake fundamental tax code and entitlement reform, stop the raid of government trust funds and rebuild an infrastructure of competitiveness in America so that future generations have the same opportunities we have enjoyed.
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