Our federal government long has taxed too much -- but spent much more! Our national debt is over $14 trillion. But President Barack Obama and many in Congress are planning to add trillions more dollars to the debt!
Some say the only way to stop the financial irresponsibility would be to shut down the federal government. Well, we won't do that. We can't do that. We shouldn't do that.
But government spending that has already been approved by Congress is expected to run out next week!
Congressional Republicans, who are in majority in the House of Representatives, propose to avoid approving additional huge deficit spending. They want to OK federal government funding now for only two weeks beyond when the money is slated to run out, and they want $4 billion in immediate cuts. That's good, but it's only a drop in the bucket as we face additional debt (with increased interest costs) of more than a trillion dollars this year alone.
The irresponsibly spending Democrats challenge, "What would you cut?"
Well, spending cuts are always painful. But Republicans should stand up for American taxpayers and demand an end to all spending on (1) things that clearly are unconstitutional, (2) things that are unwise and (3) things that may be desirable but are unnecessary "now."
That would at least be a start. Not starting -- and continuing to run trillion-dollar-plus deficits -- is no alternative.