Richardson unveils economic plan

Gov. Bill Richardson announced the economic plan he would seek to enact if elected president, a radical shift that would change the way Washington does business.

The most radical proposals would be a constitutional amendment that requires a balanced federal budget and the end of congressional earmarks – money set aside for projects in lawmakers’ districts that are often slipped into unrelated, controversial bills to secure votes.

Earmarks and unlimited spending are at the core of the nation’s political system, so these proposals would be hard to sell in the nation’s capitol.

Richardson claims ending the earmark program will save at least $40 billion over five years. He also wants to cut “corporate welfare,” which he said would have saved $92 billion in 2006.

The governor unveiled the plan during a speech today in Iowa and said the drastic steps are necessary to overcome the problems of the Bush Administration.

“Frankly, the president is acting like a spoiled teenager who crashes the family car and then hopes no one will notice,” the Associated Press quoted Richardson as saying. “Well, Mr. President, America has noticed. And the American government needs to stop breaking what the American family has built.”

Richardson also proposed replacing tax cuts for wealthy Americans with cuts for the middle class, giving tax credits to employers in rural areas and those that implement green building practices, investing in research and development and math and science education, and indexing the minimum wage to increase with inflation.

For more information on Richardson’s plan, click here.