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Democratic presidential candidates like Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker have made inequality a central issue in the campaign. But their plans for minimum-wage hikes, wealth taxes and income-tax rates of 50% to 70% would restrain the economy and hurt all Americans. At least they have ideas. Republicans seem to have few of their own to boost the wealth of working- and middle-class people, ceding the debate to the Democrats and their ill designs.
It’s no secret that the two dozen or so 2020 Democratic presidential candidates are promising a slew of new and expanded government programs that are often “universal” and “free.” Americans should be skeptical when they hear these buzzwords, which are code for “rationed” and “expensive” when Democratic presidential candidates talk about "Medicare for all," the so-called Green New Deal, and free college.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- FreedomWorks Foundation today releases its booklet, Entitlement Reform: A Growing National Emergency, in response to the record $22 trillion national debt, with mandatory entitlement spending and interest on the debt being the primary drivers. Congressional Democrats continue to pay no heed to the problem, as evidenced by their repeated proposals to expand entitlement programs.
As our debt soars above $22 trillion and continues to grow, Democrats are seeking yet another deal to bust discretionary spending caps. However, politicians on both sides of the aisle are ignoring -- as has become routine -- the true drivers of our debt crisis: mandatory spending.
House Democrats are considering pushing a massive tax Opens a New Window. hike on American workers, regardless of their income level, as part of a bill to expand Social Security. There’s no question that Social Security Opens a New Window. faces significant funding issues, but there are better ways to reform the program than increasing payroll taxes Opens a New Window. on every employer and worker.
Debatably the most important power delegated to Congress is its power of the purse. However, it never uses this power correctly. This week, the United States’ national debt surpassed the $22 trillion mark. Also this week, Congress passed a multi-hundred-billion dollar spending bill in order to cover for its inability to do its job properly. Congress was behind schedule by nearly half of an entire year on funding the government for this fiscal year.
On behalf of FreedomWorks activists nationwide, I urge you to contact your representative and senators ask them to support and co-sponsor the Retirement Freedom Act, H.R. 6703 and S. 3560, introduced by Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Ala.) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). The bill would decouple Social Security benefits from Medicare Part A enrollment, allowing individuals if they so choose to to opt out of Medicare Part A without losing access to their Social Security benefits.
The alarm is sounding once again on federal spending, and few in Congress are paying attention serious problems that America faces if it doesn’t get the nation’s finances into order.
Opponents of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which delivered much-needed tax relief to the middle class and business owners large and small, have complained that the law is contributing to the increase in expected budget deficits over the next ten years. Certainly, budget deficits are a serious concern, and Congress has shown no interest in addressing the problem.
Fiscal conservatives rightly opposed the Bipartisan Budget Act, H.R. 1892, because it blew through the spending caps by nearly $300 billion over two years and set the tone for more long-term spending by increasing the baseline at which Congress will budget. Still, this two-year budget deal only covers discretionary spending for FY 2018 and FY 2019 and doesn't touch mandatory spending, which includes programs like Medicare and Social Security whose funding runs on autopilot.
FreedomWorks Foundation, American Legislative Exchange Council, Tea Party Patriots and Committee to Unleash Prosperity in partnership with a coalition of conservative organizations and prominent individuals, launched the Save Our Country Task Force.