The
following was written in April 2014, as part of a response to the
Campaign for Liberty's 2012 survey questionnaire for candidates
running for federal office.
14.
Will you vote against any budget that increases our debt?
Yes,
I will vote against any and all proposed budgets that would increase
the nation's debt, and in times when no annual budget is passed, I
will also vote against large omnibus spending bills.
The
people of the United States do not need a federal government spending
a quarter of the wealth produced in the nation annually. The 21% of
GDP spent under the 2013 budget is an improvement over this, but more
work has yet to be done. The costs of having a federal government
would be cut immediately upon the adoption of a Balanced Budget
Amendment, which two-thirds of the states now want for themselves.
I
will support efforts to pass a Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution, and I will urge all states to do the same as soon as
possible. I will seriously consider supporting any proposed
Cut-Cap-and-Balance type legislation, although I will not support any
such legislation which does not go far enough towards achieving
balanced budgets.
The
federal government should close all remaining tax loopholes, and
reduce spending. Proposed budgets in the near future will likely need
to have $600 to $700 billion trimmed from them, and $1 trillion will
likely need to be cut from the White House's requested spending
total. Any surpluses resulting after such cuts should go first
towards paying off foreign and public debt, and then towards tax
decreases.
The
attitudes that we should or can increase government spending during a
recession, or set spending at whatever level is necessary to fund
worthwhile government programs, reflect a lack of principles about
the proper role, size, and scope of government, and compound the risk
that a lack of fiscal restraint will lead to unfunded liabilities,
deficits, and debt.
All
of this is possible as long as the Department of Commerce, national
defense (the single largest discretionary spending item), the
Departments of Homeland Security and State and the intelligence
programs; the medical entitlements; the Departments of Education,
H.U.D., Justice, Energy, and Interior; the E.P.A., and the
Departments of Transportation and Labor are considered the primary
targets for spending cuts (in that order).
This
could be done without cutting Social Security, and even without
completely abolishing any federal department besides the Department
of Commerce. However, I believe that no progress on taxation can be
made unless and until the federal government cedes all of its land
back to the states and the people therein, so that states may fully
tax the unimproved value of that land, instead of taxing (and
effectively discouraging) productivity occurring on the land, such as
sales and income earnings.
For
more entries on budgets, finance, debt, and the bailouts, please
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