Thoughts at large, regarding some of the issues that are at the forefront of many conservatives’ conversations, lately.
Strict observation of the 2nd Amendment has to be the highest priority; in the end, it protects all of our other rights
Fighting amnesty, securing our borders, and deporting illegal aliens needs to be addressed SOON. Illegal aliens are taxing law-enforcement agencies, getting benefits paid for by law-abiding citizens, jumping to the head of the line ahead of millions of would-be lawful immigrants who are doing what is asked of them and waiting for their rightful opportunities to come to America, taking job opportunities from American citizens, and depressing wages. Furthermore, the longer it is put off, the less likely that anything will be done about it. Additionally, we are learning of evidence that members of terrorist organizations are among those illegal aliens.
Repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA, or “Obamacare”) is a must because it flies in the face of sensibility regarding liberty. There is NO WAY the government should have the authority to tell us that we have to buy health insurance — let alone REQUIRE us to pay (via premiums) for other people to have recreational sex without consequence (birth control, abortion coverage) and other morally questionable procedures. We should have the CHOICE of whether or not to participate in plans that offer such coverages. Adding injury to insult (yes, I ordered that intentionally), under the ACA, I lost the policy I liked and must now pay thousands of dollars more per year in premiums and deductibles before I realize benefits that were 100% covered under my old plan. Many Americans are experiencing similar financial distress under this so-called “Affordable” Care Act.
Governmental fiscal discipline is a must. Properly instituted — that is, by restraining government to its Constitutional limits — we could simultaneously address all the other issues and pay down the national debt.
Common Core must be stopped before it becomes (which it would) a propagandizing tool of government administrators. The Constitution does not give the federal government any authority whatsoever in this area. Consequently, I want to see an end to ALL federal spending on education; it is nothing more than taking tax dollars from individuals across the nation and redistributing them to institutions that please D.C. administrators. Keep the money local, where people have more control over how THEIR OWN money is spent.
Repeal of the 16th amendment, the Penny plan, and a balanced budget amendment, are all but ways to force fiscal discipline on an out-of-control federal government. Perhaps closer scrutiny of candidates for public office before voting for them would be more expeditious, but controls are probably still necessary.
The 16th Amendment should be repealed — but it must be done in concert with budgetary restraint with an eye towards the constitutionality of all laws — present and proposed — and other actions taken by the government. This will take a major change in attitude by those in government, for the very taxation powers given them by the 16th Amendment are largely responsible for governmental overreach and fiscal irresponsibility; without a steady supply of our hard-earned money being funneled to Washington, D.C., our politicians would be hard-pressed to justify excessive spending — or any spending at all on laws and administrative branches that are created without constitutional authority (which is often the case).
The Penny Plan may serve to balance the budget in five years (or not, given politicians’ propensity to find ways to spend our posterity’s money once they run out of ours), but it is a slow, incomplete fix. It caps spending at 18% of gross domestic product (GDP) from the sixth year on. Granted, that is a slight improvement over current spending, but it still allows for a bloated federal government. This is like allowing a drunk to run up his tab, ever more slowly, but still allowing him to remain a drunk. We already spend approximately a HALF OF A TRILLION DOLLARS PER YEAR just on INTEREST on existing debt. That is a half of a trillion of our hard-earned dollars for which we get NOTHING in return. That is the price we are paying for the money-drunk politicians’ PAST spending, WITHOUT EVEN BRINGING OUR DEBT DOWN. Yet they want us to continue down this path? This is insanity. Our government needs intervention; those with the power to spend do so at an alarming rate and they need to be reigned in abruptly. At the beginning of the 20th century, we were already the world’s leading economic engine and military power — and federal spending was LESS THAN 7% OF GDP. We don’t need a bloated, 18%-of-GDP government for prosperity. Our grandparents and great-grandparents did it on 7%; so can we. Furthermore, most of the extra 11% would be money that we citizens would be able to spend as WE WISH, both raising GDP (providing more money to the government in the process) and freeing up more money for charitable giving, further reducing people’s dependence on the government. Revise The Penny Plan to increase and continue spending cuts until we can both pay off our debt in its entirety and cap spending at 7% of GDP — and let’s talk about it again. As it is, it’s just a Band-Aid on a bullet wound.
Finally, there’s the proposal to have a balanced-budget amendment. I am absolutely in favor of a balanced budget, but we need to take care to allow for emergencies, such as war. I would suggest that any such emergency spending be financed by special bonds (such as “War Bonds”) that could only be purchased by American citizens (so that we are not beholden to foreign or corporate interests). When war is financed by force (taxation), we arrive at our current situation: being at the mercy of and indebted due to the military-industrial complex. Instead, if a cause is in America’s best interests, we can be pretty sure Americans will voluntarily pitch in to finance it, as they did in World War II. Of course, the repayment obligations must be expressed clearly, concisely, and be honored without fail. It is too often the case that government-promoted or -mandated programs are sold with the rosiest of promises, but we find the Devil in the details.