America’s debt and soaring government spending pose a grave threat to our national security, our economic prosperity, and our children’s future. The nation is running trillion dollar plus budget deficits year in and year out.  This level of spending is simply unsustainable.  But instead of offering solutions, President Obama and Jared Polis have chosen to try and score political points against those who offer serious solutions.

The Problem:

• Every day, $3 billion is added to our national debt.  We are adding almost 1% of GDP to our debt each and every month.  Under President Obama, federal deficits have exceeded $1 trillion every year.
• Federal government spending, which had settled at about 20% of GDP just a few years ago, has soared to 25% of GDP.
• A reckless $787 billion “stimulus” bill passed in 2009 did more to bail out mismanaged states and municipalities and reward political cronies than it did to bolster job growth.
• ObamaCare raised taxes by $569 billion and cut back planned Medicare spending significantly.  But instead of reducing the deficit, ObamaCare created a massive, new, expensive entitlement that America cannot afford.

The Solution:

• I’ve spent my career analyzing budgets and making difficult decisions about what will help a business succeed or fail. These tough decisions must be made in Washington if we are to turn our economy around.
  
  
• We need fundamental tax reform that lowers and flattens tax rates and eliminates tax preferences that skew economic decision-making and tilt our tax system in favor of those who can afford expensive lawyers and accountants.  A serious, pragmatic approach to reforming taxation can garner bipartisan support, and would unleash our private sector to create employment again.
  
  
• Every program should be audited for waste and effectiveness.  Duplicative, needless, and silly programs – and those that exceed the proper role of the Federal government -- should be eliminated.
  
  
• The big four entitlement programs – Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security and ObamaCare – are the real drivers of our long-term structural deficits.  Entitlement reform may not be popular in Washington, but we will never tackle the problem without making tough choices, and anyone who says otherwise is not telling the truth.
  
  
  • Medicaid must be reformed; states should be given block grants and freed to find the most effective ways to provide this safety net.
  • Social Security and Medicare must be reformed to ensure the long-term solvency of the programs.  This should include appropriate changes to the retirement age, to inflation adjustments, and means testing.  Younger Americans should have more control over their own retirement assets.
  • Most of all and first of all, we must repeal ObamaCare. I support market-based, patient-empowering reforms that promote access to quality, affordable, health care. Companies should be allowed to sell insurance across state lines, citizens should be able to decide what insurance they need, individuals should be able to gain access to the same tax exclusions that big companies get, we should empower consumers with more information and competitive pricing, and we must tackle tort reform to bring the cost of healthcare down.
  • Finally, we must put an end to crony capitalism and corporate welfare.  Government should not be in the business of picking winners and losers in the marketplace.  The days of rewarding well-connected industries and corporations with tax credits, underserved loans, bailouts and government subsidies must come to an end.