Smoke and Mirrors


By:  Alan Nunnelee
Date: April 14, 2013
Location: Unknown

Dear Friends,

After a two month delay, the President finally released his budget. Despite an all out spin war dedicated to convincing the public his plan is somehow "balanced," no amount of smoke and mirrors can hide the facts: it never balances, raises taxes, and does not address out of control spending.

The President's big-government-as-usual approach shows how out of step his agenda is with Mississippi values. The contrast with the budget we passed in the House, which balances within 10 years without raising taxes, could not be greater.

With the passing of Margaret Thatcher this week, I am reminded of her observation that liberals act as if it they are ok with the poor being poorer, so long as the rich are less rich. This failed, backwards thinking is reflected in the President's budget. He acts as if raising taxes on successful people will solve all our problems. The truth is "the rich" do not have enough money to come close to paying for all of his spending ambitions, and taxing them more will not help the economy grow.

We must reject the notion that successful governing is defined by how much wealth we are redistributing from one group to another. We should define successful governing by whether we are creating opportunities for all people to prosper. A budget that spends more, taxes more, and never balances fails the test.

Stay in touch and God Bless