No Debt Increase #4: We Don’t Have to Reinvent the Wheel

From the TEA Party Patriots:

SIGN OUR PETITION TO TELL CONGRESS NOT TO INCREASE THE DEBT LIMIT!

 REASON #4

We don’t have to reinvent the wheel on spending.

Some Americans are old enough to remember a time when the federal government was smaller, leaner, and more manageable. Some Americans remember when most of the decisions were made closer to home, either by the individual himself, his family, the local community, or the state. Amazingly, even some younger Americans can recall a more limited government because we used to have one – even in the last fifteen years! This isn’t rocket science. It’s not like we are asking our elected officials to come up with some totally new and untested budget. We know, for a fact, that the federal government has functioned perfectly fine with a smaller budget and less spending. There are old budgets we can revert back to as well as other actions that would allow us to pay our obligations without raising the debt ceiling or raising taxes.

• It would take about $750 billion in spending cuts by the end of this fiscal year (ending September 30) to get us back to 2003 spending levels, which would allow us to avoid default and pay for the rest of government, all without raising the debt ceiling or increasing taxes.
• The Federal Government holds more than $1 trillion in highly liquid assets that should be sold to the private sector, and doing this now would allow the cuts to be phased in more slowly.
• If we even rolled spending back to the Clinton-era budget we could make our obligations without raising the debt ceiling or increasing taxes.
• America’s politicians have a spending problem NOT a revenue problem.  There is no reason to raise taxes or the debt ceiling except to grow government.

How can we actually make cuts of this size? Here are just a few examples:

• Downsizing Government by the Cato Institute – a department-by-department guide to downsizing the federal government.
• Strong America Now – a plan that will save $500 billion a year and balance the budget by 2017 with no new taxes, reducing the debt along the way.
• Government Accountability Office (GAO) report – found hundreds of duplicated programs and agencies that could be consolidated, saving taxpayers at least $100 to $200 billion. (Though probably more as we know that when businesses are forced to deal with multiple agencies for the same issue, it costs them a lot of money. Actual report here.)

When the politicians try to scream and throw temper tantrums about how spending cuts will damage the economy and throw Grandma to the wolves, just remember that we’ve always spent less than we spend today, and Grandma was just fine. The question is, would you rather have America be $14.3 trillion in debt or $16.3 trillion in debt. That’s the choice they are offering, but don’t be fooled. We know there is another choice, and it’s called CUT SPENDING and DON’T RAISE THE DEBT CEILING.

Reason #1: We Must Prioritize Our Spending 

Reason #2: If They Raise It, They Will Spend It 

Reason #3: We’ve Been Warned

Enough is enough.

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Enough is enough.