“ America’s biggest threat is our burgeoning debt. Now at close to $16 trillion and growing at the rate of $76,000 every second, we are inexorably moving toward what our leading economists in Washington are calling the “drop dead date” where all federal tax receipts merely pay for the interest on our national debt. We must turn this around now! But how? I favor passage of a Balanced Budget Amendment, but this still begs the question of what to cut. We need structural, rather than incremental change. Seventy percent of our current federal budget goes toward “dependency” expenditures, which was only 28 percent in 1962. Our welfare state lures otherwise capable people to become dependent on government handouts; it wreaks havoc on the family unit, and is bankrupting our nation. We have spent in excess of $17 trillion “fighting” poverty since 1964, yet we have more poor than ever. This area must be returned to charities, churches, extended families, and neighbors. We should also encourage “social enterprise,” using the power of business to move people from welfare to sustainable employment, a process successfully pioneered here in Grand Rapids. I have other cost-cutting plans outlined on my website. ”

“ To reduce government spending, close the Environmental Protection Agency and the federal departments of Commerce, Education, Energy, Housing and Urban Development, and Interior, returning all authority and responsibility for the issues and programs they administer to state and local governments. Support the Connie Mack “Penny Plan” to cut a net 1% of federal spending from the previous year, balancing the federal budget in eight years.

To increase government revenue, repeal ObamaCare and all other new regulations imposed on American businesses by the Obama Administration, pass state and national Right to Work laws to attract and help create new jobs, aggressively harvest American oil and gas resources, and dramatically reduce or eliminate the federal corporate income tax. These steps will create millions or tens of millions of new jobs, stimulating our economy and generating billions in new tax revenues.

Finally, the kicker: earmark all royalties paid by oil companies for drilling on federal lands to federal debt retirement. Given the trillions of dollars’ worth of oil now being discovered under federal lands, the 12.5 percent royalty on the gross value of each barrel of oil offers a real long-term hope of actually eliminating the $15 trillion federal debt. ”

“ We are living beyond our means, and that must stop. This will require significant reductions in spending across the board. Our political process needs to examine honestly the cost effectiveness and constitutionally of ALL government spending. Whatever federal spending our political process determines is required under our Constitution must be paid for by revenue streams that will not burden our children and grandchildren with further debt.

Our tax code must be fairer and simpler than the 70 thousand pages of special tax breaks and exemptions that serve countless special interests. These distort the market place, often unfairly benefit a very few, inflate the nominal tax rates, and leave the voters mistrustful of government. There are too many entrenched special interests groups that profit from the federal spending and tax breaks. Real fiscal reform cannot happen without some give and take from all parties.

Change won’t be painless, but it can create opportunities. We need entitlement reform that enhances choice, a re-thinking of how to monetize federal assets, and a re-examination of the appropriations/budgeting process, which now creates an incentive for overspending, in light of the enumerated powers of Article 1, Section 8. ”

“ Washington has a spending problem, not a revenue problem. In the short-term we need to end duplicative programs, many of which have been identified by the GAO that would save taxpayers tens of billions of dollars. Additionally, we need to streamline government to eliminate redundant programs between federal and state governments. We also need to return to pre-stimulus spending levels that would save us billions more. For the long-term, we need to address the true drivers of our debt which are entitlements. We have been successful in the past with reforming Welfare, we need the right leadership now to take on the tough tasks. However, a major component will be growing the economy and that will happen when we implement pro-growth policies. ”