Issue Position: The Economy

Issue Position

Imagine how it would feel to know

That the federal budget was balanced, the debt was on track to being paid off, and that our own government didn't present a long term threat to the survival of our country.
That your Social Security money was invested to get the highest possible return, and was able to provide a very comfortable retirement instead of subsistence level existence the way it does now. That in the unfortunate event that you were to die early, that money would to your family instead of disappearing into the bottomless federal money pit, and that your money wasn't being used to cover for the federal governments irresponsible spending.
That if you lost your job, you could find another one quickly.
That your children could expect a higher standard of living than you, and your grandchildren higher still.
That your children could receive an education that would enable them to have a rewarding career, and that the cost of that education would not leave you or your children in debt for decades.
That when you saved money, it wouldn't be eaten away to nothing by inflation, or wiped out completely by the next financial bubble implosion.
Year by year decade by decade, the number of Americans living in poverty went down.

Except for #2, America has been all of these things, and could be again. Our founding fathers gave us the freest country on earth, and as a result, America became the richest country on earth. If we had a government that stuck to protecting our rights instead of managing our lives this would be possible. My goal is to enact programs that show that small government and private initiative produces the results that big government promises but never delivers on.

The three most important things we should do are:

Cut spending. Our government costs 1/3 more of our GDP now than it did when Bill Clinton left office. As the burden of government on our economy grows heavier and heavier, economic growth is weaker and weaker. The current recovery (convalescence would be a better word) is weaker than the last, which in turn was weaker than the one before.
Cut regulations, and stop their automatic growth. Regulations are rarely removed, and when they are, it is only to replace them with something more onerous. Their cost is estimated by the SBA to be $1.75 Trillion/year. That's $10,585 per employee for a small business. Is it any wonder way wages are stagnating? Elected officials, not nameless faceless bureaucrats, should be responsible for the regulations that are enacted. I propose that no regulation should take effect until it has been passed by Congress and signed into law by the President. Every agency should be required to cut its regulatory burden in half before issuing any new regulation, and for every new regulation, another should be repealed whose burden is twice as great.
Reform Social Security and Medicare and allow private options. Social Security and especially Medicare are fiscal time bombs. If we do not do make reforms, they will bankrupt our country. We need to acknowledge the fact that people are living much longer than when these programs were set up. If there is a breakthrough in either cardiovascular disease or cancer treatment, things get really bad really fast. The worst part, is that the government won't allow any private alternatives to these programs. That's like forcing everyone to use the postal service instead of Fedex. What's at stake though is not the convenience and cost of mail delivery, but your heath, and the security of your retirement.

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