Government Spending Reform - Granite Grok

Government Spending Reform

The issue

Higher taxes are not the solution to our out-of-control spending. Taxes are over $3 trillion this year. Our deficit will be over $1 trillion. Raising all taxes by one third only allows us to balance the budget. How ugly is that?

It would not allow us to put a dent in our debt. Our debt is more than $22 trillion. That’s the problem. We are spending too much and we have been doing it a long time… which does not make it okay. It is a failure to recognize the right answer when told.

The need

We need to address the right problem and to address the problem at its root. We have an economy that’s strong. It is creating opportunities and growing wages. The average American is experiencing the American Dream. But the dream is in danger of becoming an American Nightmare.

The future looks bleak. Our future seems full of job losses. Our expectations increasingly reflect belief lower wages for those lucky enough to keep a job. Without structural changes soon massive tax increases on average Americans will come about.

The no action future

Many families will face tighter budgets. That translates to less money to buy food and clothes. There will be little prospect for a family vacation. Being able to improve their financial situation in the future will be very difficult.

It might mean working longer hours. Maybe it will force more people to take on a second job. People will be working an extra few years instead of retiring. The average American will have to address this just to keep up with mounting bills.

And hey, that dream of giving your kids a better life than you had? Forget about it. This isn’t the plot of some novel set in an imagined world. It will be a world where people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives. This is our future if we don’t demand that politicians in the District of Columbia control their spending addiction.

Promises don’t feed the bulldog

Despite promises every year, politicians continue to spend. They are spending hundreds of billions of dollars more than the government takes in. Every year, they put it on the national credit card. And the bill grows bigger and bigger and bigger. The bill is currently $67,000 for every single American. So, if you’re a family of three, that’s over $200,000.

And just like the credit card bill you get. This bill too is coming due. But it doesn’t have to be this way. There are several ways our politicians can reform spending.

The spending side

They can stop spending billions of dollars on things that have ALREADY been identified. The spending is known waste, fraud, and duplicative services. Congress should focus on funding the constitutionally enumerated of the federal government. That includes national defense, interstate and international trade and operation of the federal government and facilities.

The federal government should return control of most programs to the private sector. The balance should be returned to state and local governments. Programs often work best and cost less when they’re run by those closest to the people affected by them.

They should reform the biggest social programs in the budget. Social Security to health care, to return control over health care and retirement decisions. Americans will protect the most vulnerable. We always have.

The tax side

The District of Columbia should keep taxes low. It should eliminate thousands of heavy-handed regulations. Regulations grow government; siphon away our money and our freedoms. Recent tax cuts and deregulation are allowing the economy to flourish. It leads to more jobs and rising wages. We have to convince leaders to end runaway spending habits and adopt spending controls. We do that at the polls.

Conclusion

Higher taxes are not the solution to out-of-control spending. We need to address the problem at its roots. It’s not too late to save the incredible promise that is America. We should take action now to reverse the current course.

Don’t we want to live in a freer, more prosperous America. Isn’t that what we want for our children and grandchildren? This is the path to saving the American Dream for our generation and future generations. Vote early, vote often. Vote responsibility.

 

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