We have to face the sad but true reality: Republicans squandered our opportunity to lead our country by throwing conservative policies and principles aside in place of big government programs and spending. Plain and simple, during the time we were given to shape our nation’s destiny, we governed like liberals. Spending skyrocketed, bureaucracies were born and multiplied, the debt grew, and the conservative ideals on which Republicans came to power were left by the wayside.
We need to face it and move forward. Conservatism is not dead, no matter how much the main stream media may want it to be. Newsweek may proclaim us “all socialists now,” but the American people still lean to the right, favoring the free market and individual liberty. And rather than abandon those principles, conservative leaders must embrace them and learn to give them a new voice in Washington. Our nation desperately needs this kind of leadership now.
President Obama’s nascent administration has been marked by a radical sea change in our nation’s policy trends. It’s been all about taxing, spending, and borrowing away the taxpayer’s future. Remember when billion-dollar policies gave us pause? We’ve crossed that threshold and now talk about trillions in Washington with relative ease. Million-dollar earmarks are treated like chump change.
These past several months, it’s been a steady stream of bailouts, stimulus packages, and cap-and-trade energy taxes. Now, with socialized medicine looming on the horizon, it appears the coming months will promise more of the same tired policies. They’ve supersized liberalism and Washington can’t seem to spend your future away fast enough.
Last month, the White House released updated budget numbers that are downright scary. The Obama Administration is projecting a federal deficit of $1.6 trillion this year with a total of $9 trillion added to the national debt in the next decade. But Washington seems hardly fazed.
According to the Heritage Foundation, this year, Washington will tax $17,576 per household and borrow $13,392 per household, placing a burden of $30,968 on each family. And, Washington will do that so that Washington can spend $30,958 per household. I’m willing to bet that any family out there could get a better bargain for themselves – and they could do so without bargaining away their liberties.
This isn’t just money we’re talking about here; it’s people’s futures. To assume that we can spend as much as we like with little or no repercussions is flat out wrong and irresponsible. We can no longer afford to pass our financial burdens off to our children and grandchildren. If this spending keeps up, the U.S. will be forced to pay higher interest rates in order to sell our debt abroad. We will soon be confronted with the growing threat of rising inflation, a heavy tax burden, and a weakened dollar – all dismal economic scenarios. It’s not the legacy any of us wants to leave our children.
Now, fair is fair and the Bush Administration did its share of spending, too, but the rate we’re spending and borrowing money now is unfathomable. In fact, federal expenditures are projected to increase 22% in 2009 alone. We need to start taking responsibility for protecting American taxpayers – and that includes tomorrow’s taxpayers.
We can start by fixing earmarks – called by Senator Tom Coburn “the gateway drug for overspending.” A little transparency will go a long way to cleaning up this addiction. When the American people know about the millions and billions of their tax dollars that are spent on teapot museums and bridges to nowhere in order to procure photo ops and curry favor with lobbyists, Congress’ fretting about making tough choices rings hollow. There’s nothing wrong with a little input from the people’s Representatives, but the system now is almost entirely divorced from merit. And, those Representatives seem more beholden to their political allies than to the taxpayers footing the bill.
Congress should be called to justify every dollar of your money it spends. Not rationalize, but justify. It’s your money and they have a fiduciary duty to you.
And, that duty follows through beyond earmarks – regrettably, the back scratching extends beyond earmarks, too. When your government gives out your money, more than the purpose for which it’s being spent needs to pass the smell test; the recipient of the funding needs to be worthy of your money, too. Yet, the money trail very often ends in shady places.
Take ACORN, an organization that has made more headlines for scandal than for good works. It’s been at the center of criminal investigations and courtroom pleas in more than a dozen states; yet since 1994, Congress has given it $53 million. And, legislation passed this year alone will make billions potentially available to this organization. Could Washington find no more worthy way to spend your money?
I put this to a vote by the House of Representatives with an amendment that said that organizations that have been indicted for voter registration fraud or who employee people who have been so indicted shouldn’t be eligible for taxpayer funding. On a nearly party-line vote, my amendment failed. And, that very week that Congress reaffirmed its allegiance to ACORN, that very same organization was hauled into court in two states for voter registration fraud. If Congress cannot draw this line, where will it draw the line on how it spends your money?
The American people rose up this August in opposition to the big-government power grab that the Democrats call health care reform. Conservative leaders in Washington must carry on the cause now that Congress has returned to session. When Congress picks your pocket, it takes more than just your money. Slowly but surely, it consolidates power in Washington and it does so at the expense of your liberty.
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U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann is a member of the House Financial Services Committee and represents Minnesota’s Sixth Congressional District.
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