When I was first elected Governor of Minnesota, the state budget had grown an average of 20.5% every two years for four decades.
This spending path was unsustainable. That’s why as governor, I held the line on taxes and spending. We’ve cut average annual budget increased to about 2% and this biennium we actually cut real government spending for the first time in Minnesota’s 150-year history. Thanks to these tough choices, Minnesota now stands ready to lead the nation out of the recession.
A recent editorial in the Wall Street Journal points out that federal spending has increased by almost 22% during President Barack Obama’s first two years in office — the same unsustainable rate that we had in Minnesota before I was elected Governor. Well, I have a message for President Obama and his liberal allies in Washington – If we can control government spending in Minnesota, the and of Humphrey, Mondale, Wellstone and now U.S. Senator Al Franken, then he should be able to do it in Washington.
Like the Minnesota I inherited when I became governor, America is on a fiscally unsustainable trajectory. Every week brings more disheartening news. Last week the White House confessed that for the second year in a row, Washington spent a trillion dollars more than they took in. And they’re on track to do the same next year.
In his first 19 months in office, President Obama has wracked up more national debt than all presidents from Washington through Reagan combined. The federal debt held by the public increased by over $2.5 trillion over that same period. The average American household now carries over half-a-million dollars in federal debt. Economists are now predicting that in about 15 years, our public debt will be more than 100 percent of gross domestic product.
To pass this fiscal mess onto our children and grandchildren would be immoral.
Today, I hope you’ll join my interactive Facebook Townhall with Heritage Action for America to discuss the economy and federal spending. Log in to Facebook today – I look forward to taking your questions with Heritage Action for America!
The views expressed by guest bloggers on the Foundry do not necessarily reflect the views of the Heritage Foundation.
