Mile High Pie in the Sky

The mile high city was an appropriate place for the Democrats to hold their convention. Their big government and bigger yet government ideas are pie in the sky unless we find a way to pay for them. In July, the government spent $101 billion more than they took in. For the year, another $400 billion deficit, bringing our total debt, without considering future obligations such as Medicare and Social Security to nearly $10 trillion dollars.

Now Democrats are talking about universal health care for all Americans, and a complete restructure of funding mechanisms to give our youth a world class education from preschool through college. How can you argue with that? I sure can’t.

But what I can argue about is how are we going to pay for this? If the Democrats are not willing to reduce the overall size and cost of the federal government, not willing to eliminate some existing federal programs, not willing to reduce the number of federal employees, not willing to address the rising cost of entitlements, that leaves them with only two alternatives.

One, continue to put the American people further in debt, by the tune of several billion dollars a day, by borrowing yet more money from countries like China and Japan, or two, substantially raise taxes on the American people. What would you do; borrow more money or raise taxes? I would do neither.

What Congress needs to do first, and very quickly I might add, is to stop spending so much. They could begin with fraud and waste, and then move quickly to outdated and redundant federal programs. Our own General Accounting Office (GAO) estimates $10 billion is paid out every year to fraudulent nursing homes, $13 billion to fraudulent Medicare claims, $1.5 billion in fraudulent food stamps, just to name a few.

The federal government has become so enormous agencies are literally repeating themselves. For example, again reported by the GAO, we have 50 different programs for the homeless spread out among eight different federal agencies, 23 programs for housing in four different agencies, 26 programs for food and nutrition spread out in six agencies, and 44 programs for employment and training spread out among nine agencies. And the list could go on for pages.

Next would be to take a page out of Business 101 and look at employee productivity and accountability making sure everyone is fully engaged. Those who are not need to find other employment. In the private sector, if one is not doing the job, they get fired. In the government sector, too often if one is not doing their job, it is ignored because of the difficulties involved with terminating a federal employee, which often takes up to 18 months. Or, they are simply reassigned. Studies show the “firing rate” for federal employees is only one fourth of that in the private sector.

Or as the Democrats believe, we can just raise taxes. But history has taught us that lowering taxes as John Kennedy did in the sixties and Ronald Reagan did in the eighties actually increase federal revenues, as lower taxes stimulate the private economy. Raising taxes has the opposite effect, slowing private growth and reducing tax revenue. When will they learn?

Where does it all end? One place for sure it didn’t end is Denver, the beautiful city by the great Rocky Mountains, where the air must be thin enough and the smog heavy enough to obscure even the brightest minds, and distort their vision.

And now it’s the Republicans turn in Minneapolis. Will this be the starting point on our journey to the place Ronald Reagan referred to as “a shining city on a hill?” Will they be able to claim as Reagan did that they are leaving this country stronger and freer. I think not. So where does it all end?

A better question might be, “Where does it all begin?” As always in this country it begins with you and me. You and I demanding our representatives get this great nation back on a course of fiscal responsibility. It begins with you and me demanding our leaders respect and obey the Constitution of the United States which was written more to limit the scope of the federal government than it was to empower it.

If we are to leave this remarkable legacy of freedom and opportunity to our children, our grandchildren, and their grandchildren, instead of insurmountable debt and over bloated bureaucracy, we must do what generations of Americans did before us. We must leave this nation in better condition than the one we inherited. It is our duty to get this country poised to enjoy an amazing future, once again filled with hope and promise, not saddled with debt and bureaucracy.

So, it begins with the American people standing firm in our beliefs. A belief that we still are the greatest nation on earth. A belief we still are the place dreams do come true. A belief that we will remain a beacon of opportunity beaming our message of freedom and democracy around the globe. And a belief that the will of the people is the greatest power, the greatest asset this nation will ever know.