Weekly Columns and Op-Eds

Weekly Column from Congressman Gosar

“Changing the Course: From Big Spending to Big Cuts”

By, Congressman Paul Gosar (AZ-01)

512 Words

In strong economic times, America has spent money and made promises without looking toward the future.  Today, we are no longer in a financial situation that allows the government to make promises and provide for every individual want; rather, now is a time to focus on our nations needs.  We can continue down the road we are on, stick our heads in the sand, and pretend that our debt and financial problems will disappear- which will cause our country to go bankrupt and end America as we know it.  Or, we can engage in an honest conversation with the American people and work together to turn around this economy, pay down our debt and get our nation back to work. 

Washington does not hold the cornerstone on good ideas.  It is time we look outside the walls of the Capitol and discuss the financial future of our country with the American people.  That is why I voted to open up the discussion with my district and supported base line spending cuts for next year’s budget. I want to encourage the people I represent to take a look at all budget proposals, make recommendations and share their ideas regarding the fiscal problems facing our nation.  It is time Congress listens to the American people and I want to empower my district to contribute to this debate. 

While there is no easy or quick solution, doing nothing is not an option.  Doing nothing will further undermine our economy, lead to even more burdensome debt, and discourage employers from creating new jobs.  No action will leave burdensome debt on the shoulders of our children and grandchildren.  We need to be putting forward common-sense ideas to turn our economy and strengthen the programs that our seniors depend on, preserve them for the future and create the economic certainty that our employers need to spur job growth.

This week CNN has reported that a major bond rating agency, Standard and Poors (S & P), just lowered its outlook for America’s long-term credit rating from “stable” to “negative,” based on the uncertain political debate around the nations’ fiscal problems.  S & P has explained that the outlook means that there is a one-in-three likelihood that it could lower the long-term rating on the United States within two years.  This should be a wakeup call that our spending problem is not being overlooked by others.  This credit rating drop could be the first domino in a sovereign debt crisis and even a collapse.

Since I arrived in Washington the discussion has changed from increasing spending and ignoring the problem to spending cuts.  That is a remarkable turn-around in a few months.  But we have only scratched the surface of the problems our nation is facing.  Finally, for the first time in years, Washington is taking seriously the financial crisis we are in and proposing solutions.  We may not agree on everything, but at least we can move forward and together find ways to cut spending, keep our promises to our seniors, and strengthen these programs for our future generations.

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