Steve Pearce
Over the last three years, Americans have witnessed their friends and family, or they themselves, losing their jobs. Despite trillions in federal spending, our economy remains stagnant. In fact, just last month, 4,400 fellow New Mexicans lost their jobs. What is going on?
Right now, businesses and individuals are scared of the pending tax increases, increased regulation, and the explosion in government spending and debt. Keeping taxes high will actually cost far more, due to lost revenue from lack of job growth, and according to a recent study by the Heritage Foundation, it will cost the entire country an average of almost 800,000 jobs annually. While there has been a lot of talk from both the White House and Congress about extending the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, the lack of results shows that they never took this issue seriously to begin with.
Despite an explosion in government spending for the past two years, we have seen few, if any, measurable results. The $800 billion stimulus package funneled money to extremely costly “green jobs” programs that, in reality, shipped 80 percent of the money overseas to places like China and Spain. Add the recent health care mandates and the push for a national energy tax, known as “cap-and-trade,” and you see exactly why businesses are squeamish about expanding.
They simply do not see the upside to taking on the costs of new employees when they will soon be taxed and regulated beyond their comprehension.
It is very clear that the policies of the President Obama, Harry Teague, and other congressional Democrats have failed miserably, quite frankly. So, how do we fix these massive problems of higher taxes, an incomprehensible amount of debt, and a government that is too big?
There is an easy solution to the first problem, which is to make the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts permanent. This will increase economic certainty for all Americans by allowing them to keep the money they earn.
There has been some talk about the “costs” of permanent tax relief, but the reality is that our government has a spending problem, not a revenue problem. Plus, there has been a barrage of stories about government officials on Capitol Hill and in the executive branch owing millions of dollars in taxes. The federal government should not ask for more from the people until its own house is in order.
The second problem is more complicated. One idea that has been proposed is to freeze non-defense, non-veterans affairs discretionary spending at 2008 levels. This is a great first step in restoring fiscal sanity to Washington.
We also need to simply be honest with the American people. Our government has spent the people’s money with little regard for the consequences down the road. The bank is broken, and if the present trend continues, America is headed to a fiscal crisis that would make the Greeks blush.
The Congress and the state legislatures must agree to a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. Individuals and families can live beyond their means for a certain period of time, but eventually the bill comes due. And government is no exception to this rule.
The people of New Mexico deserve real leadership on these important issues. Our economy is in deep trouble, and if we do not make the tough choices immediately, we will not see a return to prosperity.
Fortunately, if we change our policies by restraining spending and regulation, and ensure that ordinary citizens get to keep what they earn, we will once again see economic growth.
Pearce is the Republican candidate for New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District seat in Congress.