Issues: The Need to Address Washington Spending
March 9th, 2010

On many occasions in this campaign, I have addressed the dangers to our economy and future I feel the current Washington practice of earmarks represent. I have been the only candidate to stand up in opposition to the way earmarks are abused in Congress. Until we address the way Washington does business and change the thinking that government should be the first answer to any problem, we will continue to see government grow and freedom shrink.
 
With earmark reform, we must also look at the rate of spending in Washington.
 
Last week, Congressmen Mike Pence of Indiana and Jeb Hensarling of Texas proposed a constitutional amendment to cap government spending at 1/5 of the nation’s Gross Domestic product. In this age of 2,000 page heath care bills, it is a very simple 2 page statement that limits the ability of government to grow beyond its means. Reviews of the proposal have determined that this limit allows us to sufficiently provide for the national defense and fund the legitimate functions of the federal government. As we watch deficits spiral out of control, foreign nations gain power over our economy with each purchase of more of our debt and the federal government continue an alarming overreach into our daily lives, proposals such as this serve to place America back on a sound footing.
 
With the current liberal leadership of Congress, it will be difficult to advance an idea such as this, but I believe it is a good starting point to talk about the size and role of government. Today, Washington politicians care little about adhering to the limits of government laid out in the Constitution. By changing the way they spend our money and limiting their ability to spend it, we can begin to pull our nation back from the cliff President Obama and Nancy Pelosi have us teetering over.
 

Posted by Robin Smith

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