Issue Position: Restoring Fiscal Discipline

Issue Position

Government must live within its means. Reckless government spending and irresponsible fiscal management have undermined our economy, weakened the dollar, and driven up costs for American families and businesses alike.

As a financial manager for over twenty years, other people trusted me with their money, and they expected me to invest it wisely. Our representatives in government should treat the taxpayers' money as responsibly as they would treat their own savings.

That's what I did in the Michigan Senate, where I managed my office budget so carefully that I was able to return the equivalent of a full-year's operating budget. Later, when I took over the Michigan Lottery, I again cut wasteful spending and brought the lottery in under budget every year.

Unfortunately, the Bush Administration and its supporters in Congress like Joe Knollenberg have been terrible stewards of our tax dollars. When President Bush took office, our national debt was $5.7 trillion. This June, it crossed $9.4 trillion, and the interest on our debt now costs us well over $1 billion every single day. To put that in perspective, ten cents out of every dollar Michigan families paid in taxes last year went to paying the interest on our federal debt.

It is not just our children and grandchildren who will face the consequences of this irresponsible spending spree. We are already feeling the effects of the weakened dollar in rising oil prices, rising food prices, and a slumping economy.

We must take action now to balance the budget, cut wasteful spending, and restore common-sense, fiscal responsibility to Washington.

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