By Peggy Venable
Published: 02-22-08
Texas Republicans have a unique opportunity to vote on some important issues on the Republican primary ballot March 4.
Ballot initiatives include controlling the growth of government requiring a valid photo ID for voting and requiring government to enforce immigration laws to secure our borders.
These initiatives are not binding but provide policymakers with a way to gauge the views of Republican voters.
Americans for Prosperity (AFP) has been a leading advocate of controlling the growth of government. Lots of voters bemoan federal government spending with good reason. The Federal government is 250 times bigger than it was a century ago. Earmarks have grown from 2126 in 1995 to 15268 in 2005. AFP has been among the leaders in focusing public attention on ending earmarks.
Many citizens were not even familiar with the term “earmarks” but now virtually everyone has heard of the $315 million Bridge to Nowhere; the $500000 Teapot Museum and the $1 million Woodstock Museum earmarks. Earmarks violate good government principles – they are not open and transparent and are not subject to public scrutiny.
Ronald Reagan once said “We don’t have a billion-dollar debt because we have not taxed enough but we have a billion dollar debt because we spend too much.”
Federal spending is legendary but few Texans realize that local government spending has grown five times faster than personal income in Texas.
Local government spending is unsustainable. Adjusted for inflation between 1980 and 2005 local spending grew an astonishing 158 while taxpayers’ per-person income increased by just 39 over that period.
Texans work 184.7 days a year to pay the cost of federal state and local spending and regulations. That equates to Texans working more than half the year to pay for government. We directly control only about half of the money we earn.
A major culprit in growing government is the use of our tax dollars for lobbying. AFP is working to end taxpayer-funded lobbying. While taxpayers are hard at work earning a living taking care of their families and paying their taxes little do they know that their tax dollars are being used to lobby to dig still deeper into their pockets.
AFP advocates spending limits which provide a trigger to provide taxpayer-approval for spending above the increase in population and inflation which would be the benchmark. That benchmark basically allows government to continue to offer services at their current level.
State and local governments have a responsibility to keep their own financial house in order. When the government takes in more money than it needs a spending control protects taxpayers. Elected officials would only need to “make their case” to the voters to request spending above the benchmark.
Every dollar spent by government every new government employee and every bond issued by government equates to a job lost or paycheck cut in the private sector.
Government cannot create prosperity; it can only protect individuals’ economic opportunity. And that opportunity is diminished when government spending drives up taxes and harms the economy.
Ronald Reagan once said “When those who are governed do too little those who govern can – and often will – do too much.”
It’s time for those of us who are governed to get involved and we encourage those voting in the Republican primary to vote for the ballot initiatives particularly the initiative which gives us greater opportunity to determine just how much government we want and are willing to pay for.
Peggy Venable is Texas director of Americans for Prosperity.
