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A Balanced Budget
February 26, 2010
By Speaker Pro Tem Bryan Pratt
The federal government is mortgaging our children’s future. The national debt clock recently raced past $12 trillion, doubling in just seven short years. It’s not slowing down, either. According to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office, Washington will spend $1.35 trillion more than it brings in this year. And these staggering figures do not include the trillions more in new spending President Obama and Speaker Pelosi have proposed.
This reckless approach to fiscal policy is completely opposite of the approach taken by American families. When finances get tight, families in our community cut back and spend less. We can only spend the money we make.
Living within your means is a principle my parents taught me through the small weekly allowance they gave me growing up. I could not borrow against future allowances. I could not give my parents an I.O.U. I had five dollars to spend, and that was it!
My family’s budget works the same way today. If we don’t have the money, we don’t spend it.
Like my household, Missouri’s government cannot spend money it doesn’t have. Thanks to the wisdom of past Missouri leaders, our state constitution requires the legislature to balance the budget. Although tough decisions must be made every year, making these decisions avoids saddling future Missourians with enormous debt.
I believe the federal government should be forced to balance its budget as well. That’s why I wholeheartedly supported a House Resolution calling for a constitutional amendment requiring Congress to operate under a balanced budget. If our families and our state can make ends meet, then so can our government in Washington.
I have three beautiful kids; fortunately for them, they look like their mom. My oldest, Leah, will start kindergarten in the fall. The federal government adds an average of $3.84 billion to our debt every day, and at that pace, our country will be broke long before Leah finishes her education.
Washington must learn how to live within its means. And since Congress apparently does not understand the principles of restraint, the Constitution should be amended to require a balanced budget. Our children’s future may depend on it.
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