Oversized and overreaching governments are not the solution in a free society. They are the problem. Such governments become bureaucratic behemoths that eventually become oppressive and weigh down opportunity, economic growth and prosperity. In order to tame and trim government I seek to chop off its tentacles of overreeaching authority, waste and excessive expense.   To do this, there are multipel actions on  six fronts which I will tackle as  I seek to battle unneccessary growth and  the existing bureaucratic beast that holds us down .  They are as follows;

I   – Institutionalizing Structural Limits on Spending

II  -  Eliminating Federal Departments

III   -Ending Pork Barrel Spending & The Practice of Legislative Riders

IV   – Reduce the Size of the Federal Payroll and Enact Congressional Salary Adjustments and Reforms

V – Beginning in 2012 Transform Social Security Into A Private System That Encourages Personal Savings Through Tax Incentives

VI – Uncover The Federal Reserves Cloak of Secrecy. Audit the It and Pass The Federal Reserve Transparency Act

I.- SETTING CONSTITUTIONAL EXPENDITURE LIMITS

Pass a Constitutional Amendment that Limits Federal Spending Based on Popflation (the percentage of population increases plus the rate of inflation)

Simply trusting government to reduce its size or even just not increase in size, is a leap of faith that has yet to come to fruition. It is like asking thieves to only steal so much a year.

Thanks to politician's inability to control themselves , over the past 60 years, a very disturbing trend has become institutionalized in the federal government. That is its overexpansion. Since 1949 the growth rate of public sector jobs has consistently outpaced the growth rate of private sector jobs which, as indicated below, have  hit an all time low.

And as the rate of private sector job growth continues to decrease the job growth rate in the public sector skyrocjets.  This is a consistent pattern that has not seen any reversal at any point during the past six decades.

To date, in 2009, the creation of public sector jobs outpaced the creation of private sector jobs by more than ever before. So far this year 1.1 million new private sector jobs were born out of the free market, while 2.4 million new government were created by an expanding bureacracy. That means that more than twice the number of jobs that cost government money were created, than were jobs that bring revenue into government.  In the graph above you can see the results of this trend based on the last decade.

This essentially means that eventually more money will flow out of government than comes into it.  It also means that we making far too many Americans dependent upon government.  In this case, we are making them depend on government for employment.

The bureaucratic behemoth is growing like a disease and there is no end in sight. Inherent political corruption, patronage and other abuses as well as waste and redundancy essentially make government a generally poor engine or model for economic efficiency. 

As such I am determined to tame the beast.  But as I already stated, we cannot count on government to tame itself. We must establish built in mechanism that institutionalize measures which keep government as efficient and cost effective as possible while also preventing its unnecessary growth and curtailing opportunities for corruption, waste and patronage.

Aside from electing leaders who sincerely take such an approach to government and holding them accountable the closest we can get to assuring that government does not spend and grow unnecessarily is to create tax or expenditure limits. Only a structural change in government can effectively counter the pro-spending habit inherent in a democratic government.

Below you will see a graph that demonstrates the difference growth rates in the size of governments.

In it you will notice that the most effective method to have produced the least growth in government are those which have constitutional limits on either how much they can spend or how much they can tax. Those which try to impose such limits through legislation actually end up spending more than those with no limits. This is in large part due to the impression that things will be under control because there exists limits on how high either taxes or spending are believed to be able to go. The impression however is false. Governments which set statutory limits, consistently wind up easily raising those limits with legislation that approves either more spending or higher taxes.

For that reason, I will fight Congress and have them move toward a constitutional process that adopts limits on spending. Having Congress bound to constitutional limits will prevent them from having the opportunity to raise ceilings through legislation that they can easily propose, vote for and pass.

Due to the fact that I will adopt a flat tax which can only be raised or lower by super majorities, there is no need for an amendment to the Constitution that would limit revenues.  For that reason I propose a constitutional limit on spending.

That spending ceiling will be based on the percentage of population increases plus the rate of inflation. This formula is commonly called popflation.  Under my amendment, the only way in which federal spending can be increased above the population rate is through a two thirds supermajority. To cover all bases the amendment will also stipulate that if federal revenues grow by more than the population during the course of any fiscal year, that excess revenue must and can only be used for deficit reduction, a federal emergency rainy day fund, as a refund to taxpayers or a combination of any of the three.

II.- ELIMINATE  FEDERAL  DEPARTMENTS

Dismantle the Departments of Commerce, Energy, Education and Housing and Urban Development.

There need not be entire separerate federal departments in order to have proper oversight or create federal legislation that can effect positive, constitutional change in areas of concern.  Many federal agencies are often used to override the democratic process as they enforce regulations that often override the legislative process and are used in ways that often interfere with the legitimate rights of states.  One federal agency above all has twisted the intent of the Constitution of the United States and become the most overreaching and interfering branch of govenemt of all.  That is the Department of Commerce.  As such, the Departments of Commerce will be the first agency that I dismantle.  That will be followed by the Departments of  Energy, Education and Housing and Urban Development.

Much of the power and authority once held by these federal bureacracies will be devolved back to the states and any areas of neccessary, proper and warranted federal oversight will take place where it belongs, within the respective congressional committees responsible for the proper and constitutional federal oversight of those areas and than after the reccomendation of those committees, be adopted by the full body of the United States Congressthat represents the people of the United States.  No longer will those placed in patronage positions within agencies that can selectivly enforce regulations which are not approved through the representative process, be free to continue to override the representative process.

III   – Ending Pork Barrel Spending & The Practice of Legislative Riders

Propose and  Pass a  Legislative Topical Compliance Review Bill (LTCR)

The process used to amend pending legislation is often abused to allow for the use of riders in the bill drafting process.  Often it is done  to pass a poor piece of legislation by attaching it to a good piece of legislation. This allows for an original  bill of merit to be rewritten to include often off  topic, unrelated bills that are usually without merit or just bad legislation that have no or little chance of becoming law on their own. The representative or representatives attachings the poor and unrelated  rider hopes that it will pass due to desire or need that others in Congress see in passing  the main, original part of the bill.   It is a treacherous practice of legislative insincerity that often accounts for the funding of unrelated pet projects which amounts to an overwhelming amount of pork barrel spending. 

Riders also enable stealthy passage of laws such as recent federal hate crimes legislation which was passed after it become a rider on the defense appropriations bill.

To put an end to this deceitful and finacially innapproriate practice I will prompt the passage of  the Legislative Topical Compliance Review Bill (LTCR)

The bill will mandate that any and all legislation drafted and presented for consideration before either house of Congress, or their appropriate committees, must be disected and proven to not contain spending, appropriations, regulations, guidelines, legal precedents or changes that do not directly relate to the intention and or purpose of the original propsed legislationand what it was designed to effect.  Such review must be conducted  by a panel of nonpartisan, existing legal counsel, within the nonpartisan Office of Management and Budget.  This legislative review responsibility will be assigned as a responsibility that will an addition to the already existing responsibilities of OMB's legislative review process.   This panel will have to insure that each piece of legislation before them does involve unrelated issues and that unrelated riders and amendments and funding initiatives  are not attached to the individual pieces of legislation before them.  Once the bill is deemed "topically compliant" it can go before the pertinent committes.  Once voted out of committee, the bill will have to go through OMB's legislative review process again to insure that is remains "topically compliant" and it must be reviewed a third and final time before it goes before a final vote on the on the floors of both branches of Congress.

Without a presidential line item veto available, this measure will insure that all spending and all legislative action is accepted or  rejected based on its own merits and not due to political slights of hand and games.

 IV   -  Reduce the Size of the Federal Payroll and Enact Congressional Salary Adjustments and Reforms

Implement  Federal Hiring & Wage Freezes, Eliminate Federal Jobs Through Attrition, Repeal the the 2009 Congressional Pay Raise, Repeal the Automatic Pay Raise Mechanism  and Link Congressional Salaries to national unemployment, inflation and GDP rate percentages.

Before we can get any future growth under control, we must get its current excesses under control.  For that reason I will implement a freeze on federal hiring and wages for a period of 2 years and a 5 year plan that will reduce the  number of federal employess and the size of the federal payroll through attrition. These freezes and five year attrition program will not be applied to essential personnel in the fields of security, emergency services and health.

I will also put members of Congress on the spot and have them repeal their recent 2.8% pay raise. In addition to that I propose to repeal the legislative mechanism that automatically grants Congress such pay raises in the future. This will be followed by a call for a 10 % reduction in Congressional salaries and a bill that will link elected officials salaries to the economy that they manipulate into either growth or contraction.

That measure will reduce or increase their salaries by a percentage linked to the national unemployment, inflation and GDP rates. If the economy that Congress manipulates is tanking, so will their salaries. If it improves, so too will the level of pay that Congress receives. Part of these congressional salary adjustments and reforms will also link  their raising of taxes or creation of new ones to their salareis.  Salaries will be reduced by 2 percent for every every percentage of increases they adopt.

V – Beginning in 2012 Transform Social Security Into A Private System That Encourages Personal Savings Through Tax Incentives

The federal government can not be trusted with money. When put into their hands, any funds available to them can and often are used for any purpose they want . They should not be entrusted with the money that is meant to assist us during our golden years.

Therefore, I propose to turn the so called "Social Security System" into tax reduction program that offers incentives for savings. Although the federal government encourages public spending on everything and with money that we do not have, it should actually promote savings, independent savings. We have created several generations of debtors and the fallout from living on debt is made evident everyday.  That is why I seek to make the changes that will allow future generations to participate in a system that will produce interest earnings on savings with a far higher rate of return than that of the return on their mandatory investment in to the current Social Security system.

Those born after January 1st of 2012 will not be enrolled into government run Social Security. Instead when they come age, they will be afforded the opportunity to use Privatized Future Security Annuity Accounts to invest savings in. Under my proposal, investimng in these specialized, federally insured accounts will be rewarded with a tax deduction that will be based on the rate of savings that one invests into these Privatized Future Security Annuity Accounts.

These accounts will not be available to those making $300,ooo or more annually, and the formula for establishing the amount of your tax deduction will be limited to a maximum of 8% of your total federal tax owed. This will be incorporated into the future tax reform plan that I will be presenting soon.

The program cannot be used as a way for the rich to use Privatized Future Security Annuity Accounts to have their taxes lowered by great amounts due to vast personal investments into their own future retirements. This program will be a voluntary, non-forfeitable Trust. Contributions are legally limited, however there are no limitations on conversion from a 401K or other pension plans to a Privatized Future Security Annuity Account.

Those currently recieving existing Social Security benefits will not be effected or have a change in their existing benefits. Those who are 5o and under on or before January 2012, will be allowed to opt in or out of Privatized Future Security Annuity Accounts. Those that choose to opt in will recieve the Social Security benefit that they were entitled up to the point that they opted out of SSI. Those benefits will be recieved upon reaching retiremnt age and paid out inaccordance with the current payment process.

There are significant concern regarding how Social Security can be funded over the long-term and such insecure, low return, financial institutions should not be relied upon for ones future financial security.

Developed during the Great Depression as a way to supplement income for those not protected by pensions and savings, SSI was well intended but it was not as wise a form investment as other institutions. It is also a system that has been abused and that many have come to rely upon so much, that now they are dependent upon it. It was never meant to be a system that one could live off of. It was meant supplement income not be the sole source of income.Too many generations have become dependent on it and as a whole, it is not reliable, consistently has solvency problems and is not as wise an investment as other savings systems. For that reason , I seek to take the government out of the personal financing of the American individual and in its place offer a incentive program that encourages wise personal investments in wise private accounts that offer greater returns on the dollar than the existing Social Security Insurance program offers.

VI – Uncover The Cloak of Secrecy. Audit the Federal Reserve and Pass The Federal Reserve Transparency Act

The Federal Reserves business is cloaked in secrecy and we need to know the true reasons for decisions that are made regarding our monetary policy and what those decisions are. Currently the Federal reserve is the most secret and one of the most powerful bosies of government that there is.

On this issue I follow the lead of a fellow Republican, Texas Congressman Ron Paul. As such I support his legislation calling for an audit of the Federal Reserve. If such an audit reveals anything positive about its operations and policies, than I will demand passage of H.R. 1207 , Ron Paul's Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009. As the bill states, it "amends title 31, United States Code, to reform the manner in which the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is audited by the Comptroller General of the United States and the manner in which such audits are reported, and for other purposes."

Passage of H.R. 1207 will make the business of the Fed , our business and force them to operate with transparency and therefore be held to greater scrutiny and public accountability.

It should be noted that I do not rule out abolishing the Federal Reserve.  Depending on what a full audit of it shows, I could choose to dismantle it and return its stewardship over to those constitutionally entrusted with its responsibilities.

It is important to remember that these are all simply initial steps.  Much more can, will and must be done, but we must statrt somewhere and this is where. 

I truly believe that the time has come to reverse the direction that the federal government is taking us in.  To do that, the changes we need must be made from  both the inside and outside.  That is why those of us on the outside must rally together and elect the best among us to positions of responsibilities.

I hope to have your support in becoming someone who can help lead us towards the changes we need and together, turn Washington, DC  inside out.

*FOR THE RECORD*

The policy positions and proposals listed below, are not necessarily the positions being put forth in this year's race for President.  To a large degree they will be updated and in one shape or another being incorporated into my 2009 platform.

However; until such time as I have incorporated and /or modified them. I leave them here strictly "for the record".  The positions below, were written two years ago and between time, personal growth and new developments, there are some new approaches that I would like to take.  My general view has not changed but some new approaches to old issues are warranted. 

 ~~~~