I do not intend to dispute in any way the need for defence cuts and the need for government spending cuts in general. I do not share a not in my backyard approach to government spending reductions.
There is nothing inherently fair about equalizing incomes. If the government penalizes you for working harder than somebody else that is unfair. If you save your money but retire with the same pension as a free-spending neighbor that is also unfair.
'Hello my name is the Republican Party and I got a problem. I'm addicted to spending and big government.' I'd like one of them just to stand up and say that.
And you can't have a prosperous economy when the government is way overspending raising tax rates printing too much money over regulating and restricting free trade. It just can't be done.
It is time we passed a balanced budget amendment and return this government to limited spending.
To reduce deficit spending and our enormous debt you reign in spending. You cut the budget. You don't take more from the private sector and grow government with it. And that's exactly what Obama has in mind with this expiration of Bush tax cuts proposal of his.
In a clean break from the Obama years and frankly from the years before this president we will keep federal spending at 20 percent of GDP or less. That is enough. The choice is whether to put hard limits on economic growth or hard limits on the size of government and we choose to limit government.
In a very weak economy when you say 'cut government spending ' what you mean is you're laying off school teachers and you're de-funding various programs that put money into the economy. This means you have more unemployed people that then draw unemployment benefits and don't pay taxes.
Increased government spending can provide a temporary stimulus to demand and output but in the longer run higher levels of government spending crowd out private investment or require higher taxes that weaken growth by reducing incentives to save invest innovate and work.
Since taking office President Obama has signed into law spending increases of nearly 25 percent for domestic government agencies - an 84 percent increase when you include the failed stimulus. All of this new government spending was sold as 'investment.'