FEDERAL DEBT AND DEFICIT SPENDING

The national debt is a very real danger. Eventually every debt comes due and needs to be paid.

This is not a partisan issue, it’s the responsibility of all of our leaders.

Deficit spending and debt is a product of government over-reach. The federal government justifies an ever increasing budget by absorbing powers and responsibilities that rightly belong to the states and to the people. The 10^th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states that the powers not given to the federal government by the Constitution belong to the states and to the people.  Federal government is not efficient; it seeks growth and power that rightly belongs at the state and local level.

Paying down the debt will require time, it will require discipline, and it will require honesty. The solution begins by identifying the appropriate roles and function of government. We must return power, responsibility and money to the states and to the people. By giving federal government unlimited power, and an unlimited budget, we are giving away our liberty.

It would be naïve to believe that a one Congressman can single-handedly eliminate the national debt, but I can start this conversation and provide an honest assessment of the budget and its impact on our future. It seems appropriate that a Montana leader would initiate this conversation because honesty and practicality are the traits that have made our state the place we love to live.