Candidates, including me back in the day, used to run on balancing the budget in 10 years. Now, most people realize, that is not possible. In addition, while states tout the fact they have to balance their budgets, most states get a lot of money from the federal government and in truth (while no state politician will ever admit this), states do not want the federal government to get their act in gear. The Feds can print money, states cannot.
I will admit I am jaded. I don’t believe any of the politicians I hear who have not been successful in the private sector. I have supported in the last 7 years candidates who come out of the business world because they are better at facing fiscal facts. Even President Trump and Senator Perdue (R-Ga) have had to face the fact, they do not have the votes to make the hard decisions they need to make on the budget because of all the career politicians in office today.
So, at the risk of being banned forever, here is what we need to do. ( I wish I could share the full stories of all the people in the establishment class who have told me I would never work again because I will not get in line but I will always tell you the truth.)
First, keep taxes low and regulations minimal. That will keep our economy going. We have to have growth for any of this to work.
Second, we must adjust the budget downward in this economic upturn because we need the flexibility in a downturn. We can’t allow the other side to cry “austerity” or you want to “kill old people.” They will and they will be wrong.
Third, we’ve got to re-elect President Trump, win back the House of Representatives with a big majority and increase the Republican majority in the Senate. This is not because I trust they will do the right thing, it is because this is the only scenario where tough decisions on the budget will be made. Every Democrat running is proposing programs what will spend money faster than the Republicans. They all are big government now, it is just a question of how big.
I am praying, and praying is all I have left, that a re-elected President Trump will be willing to start the discussion on making adjustments to the three-fourths of the budget that is on automatic pilot. The formula needs to change. In almost 75% of the budget is 5 things—Medicare, Medicaid, Interest on the Debt, Federal Pensions and Social Security. The only way to get us back on track is for everything to be on the table. And it will be more of a 30-year timeline, than a 10-year timeline.
This problem can be fixed, but we have to tell the truth and the people to tell the truth on this are President Trump and Senator Perdue. I know Senator Perdue and I know he will fight to get us back on track. If the ideas he put together had already been implemented, we would be well on our way.
