New Ideas for Regaining Control over Mandatory Spending

Posted by Craig Eyermann

Now that four years of falling budget deficits have officially come to an end, how can the U.S. Congress regain control over federal spending?

Previously, we looked at one basic common sense proposal that could slow the spending for the U.S.’ fastest growing mandatory expenditure, Medicaid, but what tools does the U.S. Congress have to deal with all of the federal government’s other mandatory expenditures that will dominate the nation’s budget deficits for the foreseeable future?

That’s an interesting question posed and answered by Rudolph Penner and Eugene Steurle in a recent paper sponsored jointly by the Mercatus Center and the Urban Institute. Penner and Steurle recognize that mandatory spending will be responsible for virtually all of the projected increases in U.S. government spending over the next 10 years......To Read More....

My Take - This is all very interesting but the only way to really fix this is:

1. Repeal the 16th Amendment.  This is the income tax amendment.  A few years ago when in Washington someone asked the speaker, Bob Dole, (right after he lost the election for President) if it was still true the income tax collected from our pay checks still only pays for the IRS.  I snickered thinking that was silly.  Dole paused and then said - I'm not sure, but I think so.  Wow!  Was I stunned.  Is that really true?  I don't know, but that's what was said.  If so - eliminating the income tax will probably save the nation money, but if more really is needed then pass a national sales tax with no exemptions or exceptions.  That way everyone will have skin in the game. 
2. Repeal the 17th Amendment. This is the Amendment that changed how Senators are chosen.  The founding fathers wanted to make sure there was a permanent balance of power between the states and the central government, so originally Senators were appointed by their states to represent them.  In effect - they were the state's ambassadors to the federal government to represent the intrests of their states and keep the central government in check. 
3. Pass a 28th Amendment to create age and term limits on the federal judiciary, and I've decided it was time to add the members of Congress to that Amendment also. 

To fix the federal government we need to starve it, bind it and purge it.  From that point on everything will start to fall into place with the natural contraction of the federal government and it's bureaucracies.