Fiscal sanity and economic strength are foundational to national security
Is America serious about survival in this increasingly dangerous world? President Joe Biden’s $5.8 trillion budget says no. So does the recent $1.5 trillion earmark-filled spending bill. They send the message that America doesn’t care about the fiscal sanity and economic strength on which our national security depends.
There is never a good time to send that signal. But the worst time is right now, as Russia invades Ukraine and threatens nuclear war, and China aims to dominate the world. Instead of preparing to defend our freedom and vital interests, President Biden and Congress are undermining the domestic foundations of our global leadership. Their failure puts our future at risk.
That’s the essential point of Biden’s budget. It hikes federal spending by a third compared to pre-pandemic levels, doubling down on the debt and deficits that are destroying opportunity for our children and grandchildren. He’s also demanding $2.5 trillion in tax hikes, which will undermine our economy for generations to come. And then there’s the recent spending bill, which brought back earmarks – more than 4,000 of them, in fact. They are the grease to Washington’s spending wheel, which is spinning faster than ever and set to get worse. Overspending is clearly a bipartisan pandemic.
We know where this story ends: A bankrupt America. Earmarks encourage both Republicans and Democrats to support the very spending hikes Joe Biden is calling for in his budget, because hey, at least they’re getting something. Yet the national debt stands at more than $30 trillion – having tripled in just over a decade – and it’s set to rise by at least a trillion dollars a year without end. Washington’s spending binge was dangerous before earmarks came back. Now it’s set to reach a new low, and the national debt a new high, since both parties have a reason to put selfish desires before America’s security demands.
The national debt takes us nowhere, but it comes from somewhere, and that’s the American people. Washington spending has already driven inflation to a 40-year high, and while the short-term harm to families is steep, the long-term consequences will take us over a cliff. Every dollar we add to the debt comes out of the people’s pockets, leading to weaker businesses, lower wages, and a smaller economy overall. Add in Biden’s tax hikes, and Americans will suffer even more.
This has to stop. Fiscal sanity and economic strength are foundational to national security, but Washington is too distracted to realize it. Instead of bringing back earmarks and doubling down on spending and debt, we should be getting spending under control. That means no new entitlements, no more “stimulus,” and no more corporate welfare masquerading as “relief” or “infrastructure.” We need to fundamentally change how Washington spends, before Washington’s spending fundamentally changes us.
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These are the urgent priorities that demand attention from the White House and Congress. Instead, our leaders are focused on unaffordable spending and unjustifiable earmarks. Their short-sightedness threatens our fiscal solvency, our economic strength, and ultimately, our national security. We need leaders who are serious about protecting America, before it’s too late.
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By Amb. Nikki Haley | Fox News Published