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.
Rand Paul has been trying for 10 years with his penny plan, and more recently, this one.
Yes he has introduced it every year since being in Congress.
Maybe he will get more votes this time?
Transfer payments say the budget can never be balanced.
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.
Let’s see how Paul’s suggestion is received when the Republicans takes control.
I expect, well, nothing at all.
Going through the motions.
It’s time to delete whole Fed agencies from the budget.
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.
"10th Amendment: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
"Many are the exercises of power reserved to the States [emphasis added] wherein a uniformity of proceeding would be advantageous to all. Such are quarantines, health laws, regulations of the press, banking institutions, training militia, etc., etc." —Thomas Jefferson to James Sullivan, 1807.
"They form a portion of that immense mass of legislation, which embrace every thing in the territory of a state not surrendered to the general government [emphasis added]. Inspection laws, quarantine laws, and health laws, as well as laws for regulating the internal commerce of a state, and others, which respect roads, fences, &c. are component parts of state legislation, resulting from the residuary powers of state sovereignty. No direct power over these is given to congress, and consequently they remain subject to state legislation, though they may be controlled by congress, when they interfere with their acknowledged powers." —Justice Joseph Story, Article I, Section 10, Clause 2, 1833.
From the congressional record, a statement by Rep. John Bingham, the main author of Section 1 of the 14th Amendment concerning the vast powers of the states to serve the people:
”Simply this, that the care of the property, the liberty, and the life of the citizen, under the solemn sanction of an oath imposed by your Constitution, is in the States and not in the federal government [emphases added]. I have sought to effect no change in that respect in the Constitution of the country.” —John Bingham, Congressional. Globe. 1866, page 1292 (see top half of third column)
"[...] a single courageous State may, if its citizens choose, serve as a laboratory; and try novel social and economic experiments without risk to the rest of the country." —Justice Louis Brandeis, Laboratories of Democracy.
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.
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.
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”
This proposal makes it too hard to launder money. Down in flames - oh the humanity!
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. .
i like it... but make it 12 percent.
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.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.