Washington piles on the spending

This year, millions of Americans accepted a salary freeze or even a pay cut so they could keep their jobs. They ought to be asking why the federal government isn’t willing to make a similar sacrifice.

Even though faced with declining tax receipts and increased borrowing, lawmakers and President Barack Obama have ramped up federal spending — and not just temporary spending. They intend to make this year’s big increases permanent... [snip]

The pity is that a balanced budget could be within reach. If lawmakers would return to the level of spending they maintained throughout the 1980s and ’90s ($21,000 per household, adjusted for inflation), we could balance the budget by 2012 without raising taxes.

Doing this would require discipline, of course. That’s why lawmakers should pass a strong Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights. TABOR, as it’s known, would help curb spending by limiting the growth of federal spending to the inflation rate plus population growth. That would save taxpayers trillions of dollars in the years ahead.

In these difficult times, with everyone cutting back, Americans ought to expect their government to do so as well. With a Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights, our government can reduce spending, balance its budget and start encouraging growth again. It’s an idea that’s long overdue.

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