Aug 04 2011

Naples Daily News: Breaking Free From Economic Oppression, 1 Cent At A Time

It is no secret the federal government is broke and our economy broken.

I am fighting to free this country from the crushing impact of deficit spending and debt. Whether it is voting against the wasteful bailout schemes and pork projects that gut our economic freedoms or fighting against the temporary, Band-Aid style budgeting that does nothing to address our exploding deficits and debt, I hear the chorus of Americans across the country who are saying, “Enough is enough,” and I am taking action to end Washington’s unrestrained spending habits.

This month I introduced the One Percent Spending Reduction Act of 2011. This bill would accomplish two crucial economic goals that would, in turn, get our economy on much more solid footing.

First, the plan would cut one penny out of every dollar the federal government spends. Currently, Washington spends roughly three dollars for every two dollars it collects in taxes. This means we are radically overspending. To make up the difference, the federal government must borrow from individuals, businesses and governments — both foreign and domestic. The more Washington spends, the more it has to borrow to pay our nation’s bills.

If you or I managed our finances in this way, we would quickly go broke and have to file for bankruptcy, requiring significant changes to our spending habits. That is what Congress needs to do as well. If we adopt a simple, yet effective plan that cuts just one penny from every federal dollar spent, we can dramatically reduce the deficit, which leads to the second goal — to put the federal budget on a path to balance by 2019. Under the bill, if Congress and the president do not cut spending by 1 percent each year, automatic, across-the-board cuts will be triggered to make up the difference and ensure the 1 percent reduction is achieved. We no longer have time for political games and empty rhetoric. Our economic freedoms are under attack, and we need serious solutions to fix the serious problems we face.

The plan I introduced is receiving positive feedback, with over a dozen co-sponsors already signing on, including Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, chairman of the Republican Study Committee (RSC), and Rep. Scott Garrett, R-N.J., chairman of the RSC’s Budget and Spending Task Force.

The bill is also endorsed by the One Cent Solution, headed by Bruce Cook, who says the plan “represents an important milestone in the debate over protecting America’s financial future.”

In an essay in the Boston Gazette in October 1771, Samuel Adams passionately articulated the lengths we must take to protect freedom: “The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil constitution, are worth defending against all hazards: And it is our duty to defend them against all attacks.”

As I have said many times before, I believe freedom is the core of all human progress. This includes freedom from economic oppression — the deficits and debt that will be passed on to our children and grandchildren if we do not make the tough choices and do what is right. The time to act is now. Enough is enough.

 



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