AFP-Arkansas Director Teresa Oelke

We spend more money than we take in and now we need to borrow more money to pay our creditors. Should we cut spending? Should we raise taxes? Should we do both? The answer stems from whether you believe we have a taxing problem or a spending problem in Washington, DC.
I think few will disagree that President George Bush spent too much money. For his part, President Bush added an average of $607 billion per year during his presidency to our deficit.

However, it seems we went from minor league spending to the major leagues under President Obama. In the name of job creation, the President increased federal spending. Our national debt stood at $10.6 trillion when President Obama took office. Today it is over $14 trillion.

What have we gotten for this economic “stimulus?” Answer: one of the most prolonged periods of high unemployment and stagnant growth in our nation’s history. Today, our state faces the highest unemployment it has seen in 24 years at 8.1%. Nationally, 16 million of our friends and neighbors are out of work or under employed in their current position.

And now the President seems to be using the debt ceiling negotiations to fund this spend-a-thon of the first two years of his administration by raising taxes. This is the same President who in 2009 said, “The last thing you want to do is raise taxes in the middle of a recession because that would just suck up – take more demand out of the economy and put business further in a hole.” The President was right. Yet, his insistence on $1.2 TRILLION in tax increases ended a bi-partisan compromise brought to him on Friday.

Passing on these record levels of debt, spending and taxation to our children and grandchildren is simply put - wrong. To be certain, it would be easier to sit back and enjoy the spending party and the comforts freedom has afforded us today. But how can we do so, when we know that our unwillingness to act will cost our children their freedoms, their opportunities, their American dreams. My parents raised me better than that.

Today our President and Congressional leaders have an opportunity to fix the real problem of unsustainable government spending. As the old saying goes, if you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.

Arkansas’ 60,000 members of Americans for Prosperity believe that the path to a stronger economy doesn’t run through Washington DC, but through main streets in Jonesboro, El Dorado, and Fort Smith. Small businesses have led us out of every recession in the history of our country. To ask small businesses and families to send more of their money to Washington DC so government can increase the credit card limits and continue to spend is an economic recipe for failure. One we cannot afford.

Americans are known for rising to the occasion in challenging times. So, let us face these challenges head-on, reminding ourselves that we can’t borrow and spend our way to a stronger future. Instead, we need to return to what makes us a great country: the hard work, responsibility and freedom of the American people.

The time has come to stop giving campaign speeches and get the job done.