ALG - Congress must keep $62 billion of sequester savings

Aug.1, 2012, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today issued the following statement urging both houses of Congress not to repeal the $62 billion of budget cuts scheduled to take effect in 2013:

"A year ago, the $2.1 trillion increase in the debt ceiling was accepted — the largest in American history — because of the promise of offsetting spending cuts. A supercommittee was formed to find the cuts, but if it failed, $62 billion of cuts were at least guaranteed for the 2013 fiscal year. That was what Congress agreed to, but now members claim they did not even know what they were voting on. Others claim the impact of a 1.6 percent overall cut to the federal budget will be devastating.

"What is devastating is the draining impact that the $15.8 trillion national debt, which will grow to $25 trillion by 2022, is having on the economy. The deeper we go into debt, the more capital is diverted away from the private sector and into the useless paper trade of U.S. treasuries.

"The only way to get a handle on that is to get on the path to balancing the budget, and that must include significant cuts to the budget. The fact is, since 2007, when the deficit was only $160 billion, spending has increased by over $1 trillion, and lo and behold, now we're running trillion dollar deficits every year. We need to cut at least a trillion, and Congress cannot even handle $62 billion of cuts for a single year?

"Any member who votes to break the sequester cuts without any offsetting cuts in return will be breaking faith with the American people, who have voted time and again for no more debt. Enough is enough. If the Republicans accept the Keynesian premise that spending must always grow for the economy to grow, they will have lost all credibility."

To view online: http://getliberty.org/congress-must-keep-62-billion-of-sequester-savings/

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Americans for Limited Government is a non-partisan, nationwide network committed to advancing free market reforms, private property rights and core American liberties. For more information on ALG please call us at 703-383-0880 or visit our website at www.GetLiberty.org.

ALG's Daily Grind: What is austerity?

May 9, 2012

What austerity?

We are all Icelanders now.

Video: Should Our Leaders Consider Whether They Are Worth Their Salary?

Maybe our leaders should look at sports and private industry then say, we aren't worth it!

Mourdock trounces Lugar, challenged incumbent on global warming and UN

Mourdock: "our energy policy is in fact a threat to our national security. We are basing our energy policy on the greatest hoax of all time, which is that mankind is changing the climate."

Merline: Blue States Worse Than Red Under Obama

Investor's Business Daily's John Merline makes the case of how Obama's economy is hurting his own constituents the most.

StateBudgetSolutions.org - Letter to Governors: Follow GM, Freeze Pensions For All Employees

 Open Letter to Governor: Follow GM, Freeze Pensions For All Employees
 

Alexandria, VA  - Today, State Budget Solutions (SBS), a nonprofit organization advocating for fundamental reform of state budgets, released an open letter to all governors urging them to follow General Motors’ lead and freeze defined benefit pensions for all employees.
 
SBS’ call to action was in response to General Motors announcement last week that on September 30, 2012, they will freeze the defined benefit pension plans of all salaried workers in an effort to hold down expenses. Their announcement will affect 19,000 salaried workers hired before 2001, who will move from traditional pension with guaranteed payments to a 401 (k)-type plan with contributions based on salary and bonuses.
 
The letter, which is written by SBS’ President Bob Williams, calls on governors in all 50 states to face the harsh realities of unfunded liabilities that if left unaddressed will require crippling tax increases and service cuts. A recent State Budget Solutions' compilation of academic studies showed that the total unfunded pension obligation for state and municipal governments is at least $4 trillion based on common actuarial assumptions.
  
The letter reads:
 
“It is time for state government to accurately account for and begin reducing massive deficits. By freezing defined benefit pensions, you are taking one step closer to truly balancing budgets. Our nation can no longer ignore the realities and push our budget problems onto future taxpayers. Corporate America isn’t always right, but eventually they have to acknowledge the light of reality. GM is a beacon that your administration must follow.”
 
Full text of the letter is below.
 
Dear Governor,
 
General Motors recently took a proactive step in creating a "fortress balance sheet” by ending traditional defined benefit pension plans and preventing across-the-board pay increases for 29,000 U.S. salaried workers this year.
 
It is a testament to the harsh realities of unfunded pension liabilities, something that your state is dealing with as well.
 
A State Budget Solutions' compilation of academic studies shows that the total unfunded pension obligation for state and municipal governments is at least $4 trillion based on common actuarial assumptions.
 
The widely quoted 2011 Pew "Widening Gap" study showed a 26 percent increase in the unfunded liabilities in one year even using the official state numbers. However, few noted that Pew confirmed, using a more realistic discount rate assumption, “as of mid-March 2011, the states’ cumulative liability for pension benefits would grow to $4.6 trillion, with an unfunded liability of $2.4 trillion,” almost double the headline estimate in the report.
 
Across the country, states have understated their true unfunded pension liabilities because lax government accounting rules allow it. As a result, the plans are severely underfunded and will adversely impact every state budget for decades. Without major reform now, those liabilities will continue to grow. 
 
We at State Budget Solutions urge you and your administration to follow General Motors’ lead to freeze defined benefit pensions for all employees and begin the transformation into defined contribution plans that would reduce the risk to taxpayers, provide you with a reliable cost estimate for budgeting and give state workers control over their retirement funding.
 
It is time for state government to accurately account for and begin reducing massive deficits. By freezing defined benefit pensions, you are taking one step closer to truly balancing budgets.
 
Our nation can no longer ignore the realities and push our budget problems onto future taxpayers. Corporate America isn’t always right, but eventually they have to acknowledge the light of reality. GM is a beacon that your administration must follow.
 
Sincerely,
 
Bob Williams 

   
To set up an interview with Bob, please contact Meghan Tisinger at Media@statebudgetsolutions.org or 703-965-1145.

Bob Williams, President of State Budget Solutions, is a former state legislator, gubernatorial candidate and auditor with the General Accountability Office. To read Bob Williams full bio click here. 

About State Budget Solutions
The State Budget Solutions Project is non-partisan, positive, pro-reform, proactive and anchored in fundamental-systemic solutions. The goal is to successfully engage political journalists/bloggers, state officials and opinion leaders in a new way of thinking about state government and budgets, fundamental reforms, transparency and accountability. Sharing studies and articles, data sets, anecdotes, and compelling narrative about what is happening in state and local budgets, The State Budget Solutions Project presents and disseminates information about every aspect of coming fiscal and economic disasters and, more importantly, highlights fundamental reforms to avoid them.
  
Check out StateBudgetSolutions.org for more information.

Gov. Rick Perry Advocates Part-Time Congress and Balanced Budgets;

Cites Tim Tebow's Faith, Persistence and Strong Finishes

Perry a standout at FOX News Presidential Debate

SIOUX CITY, Iowa - Texas Gov. Rick Perry spoke strongly and confidently about ending Washington's culture of congressional earmarks, deficit spending and federal excess, and articulated his unmatched pro-jobs record, staunch conservatism and plans to help create American jobs in tonight's Iowa presidential debate, hosted by FOX News and the Republican Party of Iowa.  

Governor Perry strongly connected with American families and football fans by relating to Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow, his unabashed Christian faith, persistence and fourth-quarter comeback victories.    

"Am I ready for the next level? Let me tell you, I hope I am the Tim Tebow of the Iowa caucuses," Gov. Perry said. "I like these debates and I hope President Obama and I debate a lot. I'll talk about passing a Balanced Budget Amendment to the United States Congress. I'll talk about having the type of part-time Congress that I think Americans are ready for." 

Gov. Perry has traveled the country sharing his message of faith, jobs and freedom with conservative plans to stimulate the economy, boost job creation and repair the damage of the Obama administration's failed economic policies. The governor's Uproot and Overhaul Washington plan calls for a part-time citizen Congress, eliminating ineffective federal agencies and making Washington, D.C., as inconsequential in the lives of the American people as possible. 

"The issue we ought to be talking about on this stage is how you really overhaul Washington, D.C.," Gov. Perry continued. "And the idea that you can't tell the difference between lobbying and consulting, the idea that we have Congress staying there as many days as they do and the salary that they have. That's why I've called for a part-time Congress. Cut their pay in half, cut their time in Washington in half, cut their staff in half, send them home. Let them get a job like everybody else back home has, and live under the laws they pass. We do that, and pass a Balanced Budget Amendment to the United States Constitution, and the conversations that we've been having up here will be minor."

Gov. Perry's Cut, Balance and Grow plan establishes 20 percent flat personal and corporate tax rates, and simplifies the tax system by closing corporate loopholes and ending tax breaks for special interest groups. When compared to current laws, Gov. Perry's plan will mean tax relief for Americans of every income group. Cut, Balance and Grow also includes a federal Balanced Budget Amendment and plans for a full audit of every regulation passed since 2008.  

During the debate, Gov. Perry shared his record and vision to get America working again by bringing the pro-jobs, pro-business and pro-innovation model he helped to create in the state of Texas to the nation. Over one million net new jobs have been created during Gov. Perry's tenure in Texas. He has the strongest job creation record of any candidate in the presidential race, and will bring his experience in creating jobs through eliminating job-killing regulations, ensuring a fair and predictable tax system, creating a just legal climate and ending unnecessary government spending to the country as president. 

For more information about Gov. Rick Perry's record, presidential campaign and plan to get America working again, please visit: www.rickperry.org.

U.S. Rep. Frank Guinta votes for Balanced Budget Amendment

REP. GUINTA VOTES TO CHANGE ‘BUSINESS AS USUAL’ IN WASHINGTON:  VOTES FOR A BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT

(Washington – November 18, 2011)    Representative Frank Guinta (R, NH-01) stood with Granite State taxpayers this afternoon in voting for H.J. Resolution 2, a Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.  The language in that bill was the same as an earlier Balanced Budget Amendment that passed the House of Representatives in 1995 with 300 votes from Republicans and Democrats alike.  That legislation went on to fail in the Senate by one vote.  

H.J.  Res. 2 did not get similar support from Democrats today.  It failed to receive the two-thirds necessary to pass; the final vote was 261 to 165.  Representative Guinta released this statement:

“Granite Staters sent me to Capitol Hill to get our country’s fiscal house in order.  A Balanced Budget Amendment is an important tool for doing that, which is why I voted for this bill.  Runaway federal spending and our nation’s crushing debt and deficit are stifling job growth.  With our national debt now $15 trillion and counting, Congress must live within its means, just like most families and small businesses do.  Unfortunately, this important measure failed today because too many Members from the Democratic side of the aisle voted to stick with ‘business as usual.’  

“Although this vote was not successful, I refuse to give up.  I remain committed to the fight to add a Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.”