The real scandal is spending

Townhall ^ | 2-15-06 | Tim Chapman

[Gipper08]

Republican Study Committee Chairman Mike Pence today issued a statement about lobbying reform and fiscal sanity. Pence rightly points out that the real problem in Washington, DC is fiscal irresponsibility. Many other problems stem from that one.

From Pence's statement:

"The headlines announcing one scandal after another have grieved the heart of the American people and have eroded public confidence in our national government's commitment to governing of the highest moral caliber.

"The Bible says that 'Righteousness exalts a nation,' so the converse must also be true. So Congress is preparing to fight for ethics reform, not because such scandals hurt our party, but because they do hurt the nation.

"But as we reform our rules of ethics, we will do so with the understanding that these are but symptoms of the core problem.

"The real scandal in Washington D.C. is runaway federal spending. "Fiscal and moral integrity are inseparable issues.

"So it's not enough to change the way lobbyists spend their money, Mr. Speaker. We must change the way Congress spends the people's money.

"Only by marrying budget reform and ethics reform can we hope to restore the confidence of the American people in the fiscal and moral integrity of our national legislature."

[Gipper08]

indeed it is not.This is the same group who have been rebelling against leadership for two years and they were the ones lead by Pence who almost(two votes) defeated the Medicare bill.The RSC is a band of House Rebel Conservatives who are fighting the good fight.

[Gipper08]

you are correct and I am sure it is happening.

[Lurker]

I wish them good luck and I will watch with great interest.

Thanks again for the info.

L

[FreedomPoster]

The problem seems to be that only a minority of one of the parties even thinks about fiscal responsibility.

The Dems are trying to talk it up, but when you press a Lefty for specifics, they reveal themselves as liars.

We need another Newt and another Reagan.

[Gipper08]

You are welcome.
If you want more info and have time,here are two speeches that will fill you in on Pence and the RSC's battles over the last two years.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1578573/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1577723/posts

[Gipper08]

I should say I have zero affiliation in regards to a White House run.

[stacytec]

Something has to happen, soon. By selling the image of the party of smaller government, we give the opposition party a point of attack when our actions are contrary to our campaign promises. Either the Republicans are the party of fiscal responsibility or the lesser of two socialist parties.

[mighty_righty]

Is this Pence guy the same guy who shares an office with the 'sandwich lady' on Boston Legal?

[harpu]

yep!

[Always Right]

Any chance Pence will get plastic surgery on the area around his eyes. Close-up and in person, they appear somewhat beady

That criticism is not only lame, it is unfounded.

[Always Right]

And the prebates are MUCH simpler than the silly mess we have now- infact, they're much simpler than SS payments.

The fairtax prebate is a $500 Billion redistribution plan. Any conservative should have an issue with that. Pence is correct. The biggest problem is spending. Tax reform while important is secondary.

[ovrtaxt]

Here's the rest of my post, which answers your objections.

And the prebates are MUCH simpler than the silly mess we have now- infact, they're much simpler than SS payments. If we use electronic cards, like debit cards, it can all be done with zero mail. The technology is already in place, and banks utilize it millions, maybe billions of times every day.

And the spending cuts will take care of themselves once the tax rate becomes a political football and people get sick of paying it every time they buy something.

[SQUID]

AS I have said many many times. National referendums will strike fear into the heart of the idiots who spend our money without regard for any accountability. It is our constitutional right! Special interest has rotted out our foundation and we must drive them out. We need a starting point.

I will speak to constitutional lawyers and see if we can draw up the framework of a national referendum on major subjects that have yet to be solved. Immigration, spending, marriage, and the like. We need to take back this country FOR OF and BY the People. Everywhere I turn they are taxing us to death. They are telling me how to raise my child. They are using schools to inculcate children with filth. We need to make a change and neither party has the balls to do it.

[Terpfen]

See #6.

[ancient_geezer]

The only referendum process in the constitution is the Article V amendment process.

I don't suggest a Constitutional Convention however to do the job. That is a formula for real problems with no limits on what can come out of it.

[Banjoguy]

Thanks for the reply...I quite agree.

[Banjoguy]

Thank you,sir!

[Always Right]

Here's the rest of my post, which answers your objections.

Ummm, no you did not address it at all. See, in order to be revenue neutral, the fairtax must collect an extra $500 Billion for redistribution. Instead of collecting the nearly $2 Trillion in taxes, they will have to collect $2.5 Trillion. Is a $500 Billion redistribution program really a conservative idea?

[ovrtaxt]

Look, please define redistribution.

You're calling something redistribution when it isn't.

Redistribution is taking from one party and giving it to another. The prebate, which you're falsely calling redistribution, is giving the consumer their tax money on essentials up front, before the purchases are made. That's not redistribution.

I would rather not have the prebate at all, personally, but I understand the political realities involved in gaining support. In a perfect world, we would fund the Federal Government on tariffs only.

[Always Right]

Redistribution is taking from one party and giving it to another. The prebate, which you're falsely calling redistribution, is giving the consumer their tax money on essentials up front, before the purchases are made.

So in order to qualify, you must prove that you spend that much money??? Nope, any bum on the stree qualifies. They can spend virtually nothing, but yet recieve their $300 per month or whatever it works out to be. A citicizen who might be spending 6 months in Canada or where ever, still qualifies. You are giving taxpayer money to everyone, including people who somehow avoid paying taxes. That is redistribution by any definition.