The Facts on Government Spending
The Problems:
The Uncontrolled Growth of Government
The role of the federal government was strictly defined by the Founding Fathers in our Constitution and Bill of Rights. Over time, the federal government has grown in size and scope to the point that it now spends more than $24,000 for each American household. A report from the nonpartisan Tax Foundation confirms that this year, the average American will work longer to pay for government (113 days) than they will for food, housing, and clothing combined (108 days).
The Spend and Tax Politicians
We’ve all heard the phrase "tax-and-spend" politicians, but it might be more accurate to say "spend-and-tax" politicians. The budget that passed on a party-line vote a few weeks ago called for a staggering $3.1 trillion in federal spending. To put it in perspective, the federal government will spend $100,000 per second, $6 million per minute, and $350 million per hour, every day for a year. Even worse, the budget includes a massive tax increase to pay for all of this spending.
Lack of Fiscal Discipline
Part of the reason for the uncontrolled growth of the federal budget is the rise in pork barrel spending. Pork barrel spending adds additional money, often to the unrelated bill, to provide funding for a Congressman’s pet project. This wasteful spending causes budgets to grow incrementally, over time, and makes it more difficult to end the programs once they have been funded.
Some Solutions:
The federal budget includes mandatory spending and discretionary spending. Both sides of the equation must be addressed, but the first step to restoring fiscal discipline is to get a handle on discretionary federal spending.
Hold the Line on Spending
Last year I offered amendments that would have saved over $20 billion simply by asking non-defense discretionary programs to spend the same amount they did last year. Some insisted that the sky would fall if we didn’t increase spending. Yet, without much notice, many of these programs operated on last year’s spending levels for two months at the end of 2007 because of Congress’ inability to enact its spending bills on time. Holding the line on spending is a modest first step in getting our fiscal house in order, and will force many federal programs to cut unnecessary spending from their budgets.
A New Grace Commission
As the federal government grows, so does duplication, waste and fraud in federal programs. To help identify and cut this wasteful spending, I have proposed the creation of a second Grace Commission. The original Grace Commission under President Ronald Reagan used private sector experts to help him make 2,478 cost-cutting recommendations that would have saved $424.4 billion. A new Grace Commission can be structured to not only find the waste, but to force an up-or-down vote in Congress on the savings.
Lower the Tax Burden on the American People
There has been plenty of talk about "economic stimulus" this year from Congress. I believe real economic stimulus comes not from more federal spending, but rather from private sector investment, encouraged by low taxes and a common sense regulatory environment. Some in Congress look to higher taxes to fund the insatiable growth of the federal government. I believe spending cuts, coupled with private sector growth, will be the key to balanced budgets and economic success for future generations.
