The Public Opinion
Posted: Saturday, March 26, 2011 8:00 pm
By U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem, R-S.D.
In our home, Bryon and I create a family budget. It is a commonsense move that ensures we do not spend money we do not have – hardly a novel concept in South Dakota, where most hardworking families try to live within their means.
Currently, forty-nine out of fifty state governments, including South Dakota, have a balanced budget requirement as well. Just this last week, Governor Daugaard and the State Legislature once again did their job by enacting a budget that ensured our state’s revenues and expenditures matched up. It took some tough choices on the part of our leaders in state government, but they knew they had to make those decisions because our state constitution requires them to do so.
Despite the fact that most states and families balance their budgets, the federal government operates under a different set of rules. For far too long the rule has been spend, spend, spend – with no regard for balancing our budget.
Years of out-of-control spending have led us to record breaking deficits and an ocean of debt. Our nation’s debt currently stands at over $14 trillion, which amounts to a $45,500 for every man, woman, and child. The federal government is borrowing more than 42 cents on every dollar it spends. That means all spending after July 27 of this year is borrowed spending.
And where is this borrowed money coming from? Today, almost half of our nation’s debt is owned by foreign entities. We have seen a 240 percent increase in the last 20 years alone in our foreign-owned debt. China owns 29 percent of our debt, which is more than any other country.
We simply cannot continue down this path. Requiring government to no longer spend more than it collects is an important step in tackling our crushing burden of debt that hurts job creation. That is why I recently signed on as a cosponsor of a constitutional amendment that would require the federal government to balance its budget.
The amendment is simple – if passed, it would require Congress not spend more than it receives in revenues, require the President to submit a balanced budget to Congress, and require a 3/5 majority vote to increase the debt limit, while also providing an exception in times of national emergencies. It is an idea that is not new, but, given our nation’s fiscal situation, perhaps its time has come.
We have many tough budget decisions ahead of us in Washington, DC over the next few months. It is my hope that Congress and the President consider adopting this measure or perhaps something like it. As they say, the first step in getting out of a hole is to stop digging.
Read more at Kristi Noem for Congress
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