national debt
Winning the big spending, big government debate
Submitted by Drew Mckissick on Tue, 06/28/2011 - 09:44Military strategy dictates that if you decide “where” a fight will take place, then you will be able to choose the ground that is most favorable to you. The same holds true in politics.
As debate in Washington rages over the deficit, the debt and the debt limit, Republicans in Congress need to keep in mind that the table for the 2012 election is being set – and a fight over big, expensive government offers the GOP the perfect opportunity to choose their own ground.
The 2010 midterm elections offer some instruction on this point. According to a Gallup poll, that election set a modern day record for the highest percentage of people who claimed that they were “more enthusiastic” about voting just prior to election day, (53%). Further, it represented the largest “enthusiasm” gap between self-identified Republicans vs. Democrats – with 63% of Republicans saying they were more enthusiastic, vs. 44% of Democrats.
This begs the question, what were they excited about (or not)? Of course the answer is government – the new Obama brand of bigger, more intrusive and expensive government, to be specific. Republicans couldn’t wait to kick it in the teeth, and far fewer Democrats were interested in defending the policies of the man they so enthusiastically put in office just two years earlier.
Follow @DrewMcKissickA canary in a budgetary coal mine
Submitted by Drew Mckissick on Mon, 02/14/2011 - 11:21As most of Washington has begun to see the need to have some serious conversations about how we might make do with less spending, it probably comes as no surprise that for many members of Congress it is little more than just talk.
While some congressional leaders prepare to do battle with the bureaucracy and the White House over cuts to cherished programs, others, (including some Republicans), are trying to force the administration to spend billions more than it has already requested.
Yes, really.
Congress is trying to force feed the Pentagon additional hardware that both the Bush and Obama administrations agreed would be a waste of taxpayer dollars. Specifically, they want to force the military to buy an alternate engine for the forthcoming F-35 Lightning fighter jet.
Follow @DrewMcKissickTime for the Balanced Budget Amendment
Submitted by Drew Mckissick on Mon, 02/07/2011 - 09:55In 1997, a proposed amendment to the Constitution that would require Congress to balance the budget received sixty-six votes – falling just one vote short of the required two-thirds majority it needed to pass and be sent on to the states for ratification.
That was the last time Congress considered a balanced budget amendment. The national debt at that time was over five and a half trillion dollars. Today it is over fourteen trillion. Coincidence?
Year after year Congress borrows more money and spends all that it borrows; and year after year they vote to increase our national debt limit. It’s like being able to increase your credit limit after you’ve maxed out your credit cards.
Follow @DrewMcKissickSpending our way to oblivion
Submitted by Drew Mckissick on Thu, 05/20/2010 - 14:59
Margaret Thatcher once said that, “the problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money”. One could easily add that another problem is that the other people eventually want to get paid back.
It’s a problem that is becoming more real with each passing day. As the interest on that borrowed money consumes more of our nation’s economy, our options and our future will be increasingly limited. The result is a threat to our individual freedoms and economic liberty, and eventually even our national security.
Follow @DrewMcKissickHaving the courage to say "stop"
Submitted by Drew Mckissick on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 13:40It's been more than a little amusing lately to watch politicians, interest groups and media types criticize Gov. Mark Sanford for saying “no” to spending an additional $700 million in federal “stimulus” money on anything other than state debt reduction.
This money represents less than 10 percent of the entire tab (including tax cuts) of federal dollars headed to South Carolina, yet you would think it was our entire budget, from critics’ reaction.
And keep in mind that many who are now criticizing the governor opposed the federal stimulus bill to begin with — the same bill that these funds will come from. (I’ll not name names to protect the guilty.)
The controversy is also amusing because our country’s fiscal policies are so insane that about all you can do anymore is laugh.
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