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Sen. Rand Paul’s plan to balance the budget is a huge step toward fiscal responsibility
Wash Examiner ^ | June 8 | by Christopher Tremoglie,

Posted on 06/08/2022 5:45:00 PM PDT by RandFan

With record inflation and out-of-control government spending, the notion of a fiscally responsible government seems like an afterthought. Both parties have not provided even the slightest hint at curbing expenditures in any way. The more members from both parties speak, the more money they seemingly want to spend. Fortunately, our country has at least one member of Congress concerned with our national debt: Sen. Rand Paul.

On Monday, Paul introduced his "Six Penny Plan," which he says will balance the federal budget within five years. With numerous financial troubles on the horizon, his plan is the legitimate solution our country desperately needs.

"Five years ago, we could balance our budget with a freeze in spending without cutting anything. Since then, our debt has skyrocketed to $30 trillion with $2 trillion just from this past year," the Kentucky Republican said. "We are now in a situation that a simple penny, two, three, or even a five pennies per-dollar reduction is insufficient to balance our budget. It requires six. We cannot keep ignoring this problem at the expense of taxpayers, and my budget will put our nation on track to solve this crisis that Congress created."

The country's future is at risk if government keeps spending trillions of dollars without accountability. And accountability is what is at the crux of Paul's plan. Consider the past few years that have put the country in its current precarious situation and looming financial crisis.

First, reckless spending contributed to Congress adding approximately $11 trillion to the federal debt. Next, statistics show that the annual structural deficit has increased by more than double while interest payments on the debt have exploded by 32%. Finally, there is the problem of inflation that is hurting the public each day, reaching a 40-year high.

Paul meticulously lists the key components of his plan to balance the budget. First, it calls for a cut in spending. This would necessitate "a reduction of $298 billion in government spending in the first year and $16.1 trillion over ten years relative to adjusted baseline estimates." The plan also provides detailed breakdowns of the totals allotted for major functional categories such as national defense, international affairs, general science, space, and technology, energy, commerce and housing, social security, and others.

"America is facing both an inflation crisis and a debt crisis, and they're both being caused by Washington's addiction to spending," said Garrett Bess, the vice president of Heritage Action. "Yet even with inflation over 8% and a national debt that has surpassed $30 trillion, Democrats in Congress continue to advocate for more spending, which will only make both crises worse. Fortunately, Sen. Paul has introduced the 'Six Penny Plan,' which would cut wasteful spending and put the United States on a path to a balanced budget within five years. Americans deserve a serious plan to get our fiscal house in order, and Sen. Paul has delivered."

Thankfully, Paul has the foresight to see the looming financial emergency if our government does not start to rein in its spending. This plan is a significant move to ensure our country's fiscal sustainability and resolve many future monetary problems. Perhaps most importantly, Paul's "Six Penny Plan" seeks to curb much of our country's needless spending while prioritizing the taxpayer. Paul's plan will have bipartisan approval if our politicians are genuinely interested in protecting our future from economic disaster.


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Conspiracy
KEYWORDS: federalbudget; neocons4biden; nothappening; randpaul; sixpennyplan; warprofiteers; whenpigsfly

1 posted on 06/08/2022 5:45:00 PM PDT by RandFan
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To: RandFan; All

Rand Paul has been trying for 10 years with his penny plan, and more recently, this one.


2 posted on 06/08/2022 5:48:10 PM PDT by Cobra64 (Common sense isn’t common anymore.)
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To: Cobra64

Yes he has introduced it every year since being in Congress.

Maybe he will get more votes this time?


3 posted on 06/08/2022 5:49:27 PM PDT by RandFan (For some reason I'm interested in politics, particularly the U.S. Senate)
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To: RandFan

Transfer payments say the budget can never be balanced.


4 posted on 06/08/2022 5:52:30 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (Contempt for pre-born human life breeds contempt for post-born human life.)
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To: RandFan

How ‘bout electing a President who, a few hours after victory, announces a press conference announcing the following EO:

“Effective tomorrow, every agency in the federal government, with the exception of the military, has 10% less funds at their disposal. If you cannot provide equal or better service within this new budget constraint, I will replace you with someone who can. Have a nice day!”

I have heard enough horror stories about waste to know this is doable.


5 posted on 06/08/2022 6:11:50 PM PDT by econjack (I'm not bossy. I just know what you should be doing.)
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To: RandFan

Let’s see how Paul’s suggestion is received when the Republicans takes control.

I expect, well, nothing at all.


6 posted on 06/08/2022 6:32:00 PM PDT by BfloGuy ( Even the opponents of Socialism are dominated by socialist ideas)
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To: RandFan

Going through the motions.

It’s time to delete whole Fed agencies from the budget.


7 posted on 06/08/2022 6:42:39 PM PDT by lurk (u)
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To: RandFan; All
Post-17th Amendment (17A) ratification Rand is at least trying to do something.

The bottom line is that Trump's red tsunami of patriot supporters need to support their new, Trump-endorsed STATE lawmakers in 2023 in putting a stop to unconstitutional federal taxes, taxes that Congress cannot reasonably justify under its constitutional, Article I, Section 8-limited powers.

"Congress is not empowered to tax for those purposes which are within the exclusive province of the States." —Justice John Marshall, Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824

Once unconstitutional federal taxes are stopped then the states will ultimately find a tsunami of new revenues (imo) that the states can use to start their own social spending programs, instead of having citizens continue to rely on the unconstitutional spending programs of the very corrupt federal government according to the Gibbons v. Ogden excerpt above.

And to make such changes permanent, all the states need to effectively secede from the very corrupt, unconstitutionally big federal government by repealing the 16th and 17th Amendments (16&17A).

In fact, I challenge the states to process 16&17A repeal amendment faster than Pelosi scandalously rammed unconstitutional (imo) Obamacare through the House, the repeal amendment strictly limited to repealing those amendments, arguably little or no discussion required.

Insights welcome.

8 posted on 06/08/2022 6:46:53 PM PDT by Amendment10 ( )
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To: econjack

Having worked in a federal agency one experience is that they never fail to spend all of their money they are given. Rather than indicate that they have not spent it all and return it to the Treasury they set up end of the year projects to ensure that All is spent. They do this out of the fear of NOT getting money for the next year. Most of these end of the year expenditures are BS! Plus salaries are always being raised.


9 posted on 06/08/2022 6:52:32 PM PDT by dvan (Send Them Home!Napolatono)
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To: econjack

It has to include military spending or it won’t work.

Military spending is a conservative weak spot.

If you don’t include it, we’ll have every GD spending program “under the sun” being called military spending.

So called conservatives don’t care as long as it benefits their purses & wallets.

“Gibedat”


10 posted on 06/08/2022 6:53:13 PM PDT by unclebankster (Globalism is the last refuge of a scoundrel)
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To: RandFan

This proposal makes it too hard to launder money. Down in flames - oh the humanity!


11 posted on 06/08/2022 6:53:57 PM PDT by ReaganGeneration2
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To: dvan

No matter how it’s done, cutbacks in spending result in economic recession, which is anathema to voters, and hence to politicians. So it can’t happen until the apocalypse. .


12 posted on 06/08/2022 7:04:49 PM PDT by Chad C. Mulligan (qd4)
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To: econjack

i like it... but make it 12 percent.


13 posted on 06/08/2022 7:17:00 PM PDT by teeman8r (Armageddon won't be pretty, but it's not like it's the end of the world or something )
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To: RandFan

Stopping the crazy deficit spending is the only way to put the brakes on inflation.

Inflation isn’t because of Putin, but it also isn’t because of the sanctions against Russia.

Something like sanctions can increase the price of, say, oil, but if there were the same number of dollars out there, other things would have to compensate by going down in price (because people couldn’t afford to buy the same amounts of both gasoline and other goods that they had been buying before).

What caused this inflation was simply all the money that was created (or “printed”, as people say, but calling it that is sort of an anachronism in this electronic age) during the Covid lockdowns and simply handed out to people for doing nothing.


14 posted on 06/11/2022 12:44:36 PM PDT by Alvin Diogenes
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