Spending and Taxes
Controlling Government Spending and Taxes
The spending
binge has got to end, and the federal government should start
living within its means. We are currently spending $5 for every $3
we take in, and this is not sustainable. We will never achieve
prosperity through bigger government, and the trillion dollar
initiatives must stop. We must restore fiscal integrity to the
budgeting, taxing, and spending process. In these lean times with
the country at war, we cannot continue to increase spending by
double-digit increases each year, or our country will never
recover.
As many already know, Ohio is one of the least tax-friendly
states to business, and the new Administration is not helping the
situation. While I take President Obama at his word that he wants
to create jobs and help small businesses, his solutions have been
distressing. The $787 billion stimulus plan has not generated many
jobs, especially in the private sector. His plan to give employers
who hire the unemployed a $4,000 tax credit is not workable because
no company will spend $40,000 in salary and benefits in this
economy for the promise of a paltry tax credit sometime down the
road.
We should strive to find meaningful ways to ease the tax burden
so we can generate jobs and investments, and we need to stop piling
on regulations that may not be merited. The Competitive Enterprise
Institute said compliance with federal regulations cost nearly $1.2
trillion in 2009 alone, and a staggering 3,503 new regulations took
effect last year. Regulatory costs now absorb more than 8 percent
of our gross domestic product, and regulations now cost more each
year than income tax! This surge in regulations cannot
continue.