Conservative
Fiscal Agenda
by Nathan Tabor
I
was captivated by a front-page story in this Monday's edition
of USA Today. "CONSERVATIVES TO CHALLENGE BUSH," the
headline screamed. Apparently 100 real Conservatives in Congress
are ready to rumble over amnesty for illegal immigrants, potential
pro-abortion judicial appointments, top-down federal mandates in
education, and fundraising limits in political campaigns. They also
want to stop the financial bleeding caused by runaway entitlement
programs such as Bush's controversial prescription drug benefits
for seniors.
 These
Republicans are discontented with many of the Big Government policies
promoted by the White House – policies that were to blame
for turning a federal budget surplus into a $422 billion deficit
during Bush's first term. They now want to cut back on non-defense
government spending far more than Bush does. "Congress needs
to assert itself more," the article quoted Rep. Zach Wamp,
R-Tenn. -- to which I add my own hearty Amen!
As
a small business owner with over 150 employees, I know that you
can't keep on spending more money than you are bringing in,
or you won't be around for long. When a business gets in a
bind, it cuts back, reduces its expenses, and lowers the price on
its products. But when the government gets in a bind, the politicians
always want to raise our taxes and promote some new boondoggle.
The government needs to learn to operate like a business. We need
some financial discipline. If our President wants to be a Texas
cowboy, he should rope in Government Spending and bulldog the Tax
Code.
Americans
pay out way too much to Uncle Sam. The best way to energize our
economy is to let folks keep more of what they earn, not siphon
off their wealth and pour it down the black hole of Big Government
bureaucracy. Raising taxes should be made as difficult as possible.
We need a Constitutional Amendment to require a two-thirds supermajority
to raise our taxes.
The
Tax Code has become too burdensome and complicated. It is time to
scrap the income tax, inheritance (or death) tax, and marriage penalty
tax, and to replace all of these with a simple tax code. Whether
you want a Fair Tax or a Flat Tax, we need comprehensive tax reform
that will eliminate the IRS, make paying taxes simpler and fairer
for all Americans, encourage savings and investment, and promote
growth and prosperity.
Next,
it's time for some belt-tightening inside the Beltway. The
best way to limit the size of government is ensure that federal
spending does not grow at a faster pace than the private sector.
And we need to give the President the power to eliminate waste in
the federal budget with a line item veto.
Congress
should create an independent watchdog agency to review the finances
of every federal agency to see if our tax dollars are being wasted.
There are dozens of federal agencies hanging around that no longer
have much use but are very tough to get rid of. We also need a Sunset
Law that requires the review of each agency every five years to
decide whether it should be continued or eliminated.
Finally,
we need a Balanced Budget Amendment to force the government to balance
its books every year. This single step could save our children and
grandchildren untold billions of dollars in future years.
These
are all good, sound, common sense ideas that could work –
if only there were enough courageous leaders with the political
will to make them a reality.
Nathan
Tabor is a conservative political activist based in Kernersville,
North Carolina. He has his BA in Psychology and his Master's Degree
in Public Policy. He is a contributing editor at www.theconservativevoice.com.
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