James Madison, Federalist Papers #45
"The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined.”
U.S. Constitution, 10th Amendment
“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
A legitimate and primary purpose of civil government is to safeguard the God-given rights of its citizens; namely, life, liberty, and property. Only those duties, functions, and programs specifically assigned to the federal government by the Constitution should be funded. We call upon Congress and the President to stop all federal expenditures which are not specifically authorized by the U.S. Constitution, and to restore to the states those powers, programs, and sources of revenue that the federal government has usurped. We call upon the President to use his veto power to stop irresponsible and unconstitutional appropriations and refuse to spend money appropriated by Congress for unconstitutional programs or in excess of tax revenue collected.
Budget considerations are greatly impacted by the ever rising national debt. Interest on the debt is one of the largest expenses of government, and unless the interest is paid, the debt will continue to grow as interest is added to interest. We must eliminate the debt in the shortest reasonable time by:
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Not spending more than collected revenues;
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Paying interest as it accrues; and
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Making annual reductions in the principal
We could eliminate the debt more rapidly by selling certain lands and other federal assets, including foreign military bases, and applying the proceeds exclusively to debt reduction.
One of the greatest contributors to deficit spending is war. If the country is to eliminate debt, these United States cannot become gratuitously involved in constant wars. Constitutional government, as the founders envisioned it, was not imperial. It was certainly not contemplated that America would police the world at the taxpayers' expense.
We reject the misleading use of the terms "surplus" and "balanced budget" as long as we have public debt. We oppose dishonest accounting practices such as "off-budget items" used to hide unconstitutional spending practices.
We call for an end to the raiding by the federal government of the Social Security, Railroad Retirement and Medicare funds. We believe that over a protracted period the Social Security system may be privatized without disadvantage to the beneficiaries of the system.
However, the program has been in place since the 1930s, and workers and their employers were taxed for the program and paid in good faith. The government promised to deliver the benefits, and must meet this commitment.
We call for the abolition of the Civil Service system, which is perceived to confer on government employees a "property right" regarding their jobs.
