We need common sense spending cuts in the budget of the Federal Government that reflect the economic realities that are present today.  Instead of deficit spending, the Congress needs to take a structured approach to eliminating and reducing expenditures that are not critical to the operation of the country.  There will be extensive debate on what should be kept and cut – that is a healthy approach for our Republic.  Avoiding the discussion or choosing to ignore the problem and mortgage the future of our children and their children is unacceptable.   At 1.5 TRILLION in borrowed spending, the President and my opponent (your current Congressman, Brad Miller) are not responsibly stewarding the affairs of the United States.

Representative Brad Miller voted for:

• Fannie/Freddie Bailout that cost taxpayers $400 Billion (or $400,000,000,000)
• The TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) or Bank Bailout spending that cost taxpayers $700 Billion (or $700,000,000,000)  (Note $418B spent thus far)
• Automotive Industry Bailout that cost taxpayers $14 Billion (or $14,000,000,000)
• The ‘Stimulus Bill’ that cost taxpayers $787 Billion (or $787,000,000,000 – this is a low estimate; $900B is the upper end of the estimates)
• ‘Obamacare’ that cost/will cost taxpayers an estimated $1 Trillion (or $1,000,000,000,000) with no reliable estimate of actual costs
• Cash for Clunkers subsidy that cost taxpayers $3 Billion (or $3,000,000,000)
• Raising the debt ceiling 5 times in the last 4 years, from $9T to $13.6T (the amount of total debt the country is allowed by law to carry – our credit limit).

We can do better.

To put the spending in perspective, this is what a trillion dollars looks like:

and this will help put the final image into perspective:

This is a group of pallets that are stacked two tall and are 430x220 feet (or larger than a football field) and placed 50 pallets wide and 100 pallets long.

If we were to put the money needed to pay off the US National Debt in one place, it would more than fill twenty two football fields, almost thirty acres of land, with a group of pallets stacked seven feet tall.

The National Deficit this year ($1.3 Trillion) would fill two of these football fields.  The spending voted for by Rep. Miller (noted above) would nearly fill five football fields.

We can do better.  As a member of Congress, I will vote for legislation if it meets four simple criteria referred to as CANE (Constitutional, Affordable, Necessary and Ethical) and will help reign in spending from the Federal Government.