Issue Position: Balanced Budget Amendment

Issue Position

The current national debt is over $13 trillion and growing alarmingly fast. It has been predicted that President Obama is adding at least $9 trillion in new debt over the next ten years. The United States government spent over $400 billion on interest alone.

The State of Arkansas got this right in 1945 with the Revenue Stabilization Act, which ties spending with incoming revenue. In short, the state doesn't spend what the state doesn't have. Another factor in this matter is the credit rating of our country. The Arkansas Democrat Gazette (4/11/10) read "Meanwhile, one of the leading credit-rating agencies--Moody's Investor's Services--warned last month that the United States could see its current gold-plated credit rating lowered if it fails to bring federal debt under control, something that never happened since the country was first rated by Moody's in 1949."

The balanced budget amendment would force a guarantee of fiscal responsibility in our federal government, ensuring our nation's creditability and helping the economy today by relieving our children and grandchildren of tremendous burdens in the future.

As the Mayor of Rogers, I have always maintained a balanced budget, a policy I instituted from the very beginning, which allowed the city to maintain a reserve fund remaining fiscally sound and responsible.

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