For most of our history elected officials felt obligated to keep the federal budget in the black. Yearly deficits were temporary phenomena brought on by wars or other emergencies, and the accumulated national debt was reduced once the crises passed. Unfortunately, a relentless run-up in non-defense federal spending has doubled the overall budget, after inflation, in less than 30 years. Congress’s response has been to spend even more money at the expense of all the tax payers. Congressman Robert Wexler – a “Fire Breathing Liberal” as he calls himself, supports this kind of excessive spending. By 2010, the deleterious effects of the $800+ Billion “stimulus”, and President Obama’s trillion dollar budget, will be on full and naked display.

A new cry for a balanced budget amendment needs to be part of those who value economic freedom, and loath its current erosion. This will be part of my strategic efforts if I am elected for the Congressional District in Washington. The American people should never again be used as human experiments for economic theories of such grand scale that have so little empirical evidence. An amendment to the Constitution would define a set of rules within which policymakers would have to operate, one that will guarantee the rights of its citizens. It is our fundamental right – and that of future generations – to be free of excessive federal debt!

A Balanced Budget Amendment will force Congress and future Presidents to make tradeoffs in their priorities. Either they raise spending and taxes, or they cut taxes and spending. As demonstrated so clearly during the administration of George W. Bush, tax cuts with deficits do not lead to spending cuts. With the sole exception of declared war, all future governments must be prevented from passing off financial responsibility to future generations.