Blue Collar Muse

Heading into Michigan and South Carolina, and enjoying an uptick in interest and momentum following Thursday night’s GOP debate hosted at FOXNews, over the weekend the Thompson campaign released Fred’s plan to reduce Federal Spending. It’s not a particularly long read and it is thin on implementation. However, as a good overview on how Fred would address and approach spending and the budget process in general it’s quite good.

I’m including just the bullet points here. Each one has a paragraph or more of explanation at Fred’s official site. For the detail on the bullets, click through to Fred’s campaign.

THOMPSON PLAN TO REDUCE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SPENDING

In 2007, the federal government’s spending rose to an astounding $2.8 trillion– the equivalent of $22,000 per household. Growth in federal government spending, however, rarely translates into better services for the American people. Solutions for many public policy problems are best found in the private sector, and then at the State and local level–not in Washington, DC. Indeed, the federal government loses billions every year due to ineffective programs, poor management, waste, and fraud. And, the problem is getting worse. Within the next five years, federal spending is expected to reach more than $3.2 trillion, or about 20 percent of our economy; more than half of this amount is mandatory spending for entitlements. Increasing government spending is not the answer to our country’s problems. It is time to get it under control with better solutions and better management of our federal government.

Balance the Budget and Eliminate Underperforming Programs

Congress has consistently refused to balance the budget and address the deficit. In fact, federal spending continues to grow at rates double inflation. This rate of growth in federal spending is not sustainable and must be brought under control. The following actions will result in better control of the growth of non-defense discretionary spending:

1. Limit Non-Defense Federal Spending to Inflation.

2. Implement a One-Year Hiring Freeze Pending Completion of Federal Government Strategic Assessment.

3. Conduct a Comprehensive Cost-Benefit Analysis of All Federal Programs.

Enact Meaningful Earmark Reform

Congressional earmarks add up to tens of billions of dollars each year. In Fiscal Year 2006 alone, the cost to the American taxpayer was more than $64 billion. Even more disconcerting is the fact that many earmarks do not benefit the America people but only serve to support special interests. To accomplish real and meaningful earmark reform, the following actions must be taken:

1. Provide President with Line-Item Veto Authority.

2. Direct Agencies to Ignore “Soft” Earmarks.

3. Propose Legislation on Earmark Procedures.

Eliminate Improper Government Payments and Prosecute Fraud

Many government agencies cannot pass an audit. In 2007 alone, the government made more than $50 billion in improper payments. On top of that, fraud costs the American taxpayer tens of billions of dollars a year. Government regulations also reduce innovation and competitiveness. The following policies would address these problems:

1. Eliminate Improper Payments.

2. Increase the Prosecution of Fraud.

3. Hold Executives Accountable.

4. Propose Regulatory Improvement Legislation.

Reform Entitlement Programs

Entitlement spending is threatening to engulf the American taxpayer in a tidal wave of additional costs, as millions of Americans begin retiring over the next several years. In fact, spending on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid is growing so fast that within 40 years it will consume the entire federal budget. This is unsustainable. The following initiatives will help restore the fiscal solvency of these programs:

1. Save and Protect Social Security.

2. Ensure Future Viability of Medicare and Medicaid.

Popularity: 30% [?]

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 15th, 2008 at 7:00 am and is filed under 2008 election season, Politics, Pork, Taxes, The Economy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.