Bringing LIBERTY to Capitol Hill -- 2008
OZARKS VIRTUAL TOWN HALL
Saturday Morning, July 7, 2007, 10:30am

A Discussion of The President's Saturday Morning Radio Address

Notes and Summary of the Broadcast -- Government Spending and the Economy

In his weekly radio address President Bush said, "This week, we received more good news showing that our economy is strong and growing. The Department of Labor reports that our economy has now created jobs for 46 consecutive months. America added 132,000 jobs in June, and that means our economy has added more than 8.2 million new jobs since August of 2003. Unemployment is low, consumer confidence is high, incomes are rising, and opportunity is growing across America."

Our Nation's strong economy is no accident. It is the result of the hard work of the American people and pro-growth policies in Washington. Starting in 2001, my Administration delivered the largest tax relief since Ronald Reagan was in the White House. Our tax relief has left $1.1 trillion in the hands of citizens like you to save, and spend, and invest as you see fit.

A Libertarian Response:

1. A "Pro-Growth" Policy in Washington is one which keeps Washington out of America's Business. A "Pro-Growth" policy is an anti-Washington policy.
2. Bush is trying to sound like Libertarian Presidential Candidate Harry Browne. But Bush is no libertarian.

Kevin Craig's Platform: Budget, Spending, Deficits

The 2006 Libertarian Party Platform: The Economy

Recent Blog Posts:

• Teach Republicans a Lesson

More Detailed Response:

The President's Saturday Radio Address	A Libertarian Response
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning.
This week, we received more good news showing that our economy is strong and growing. The Department of Labor reports that our economy has now created jobs for 46 consecutive months. America added 132,000 jobs in June, and that means our economy has added more than 8.2 million new jobs since August of 2003. Unemployment is low, consumer confidence is high, incomes are rising, and opportunity is growing across America.	Credit for America's high standard of living goes to entrepreneurs and American businesses. Computers, robotics, hi-tech assembly lines, imagination, economic planning and forecasting, research and development, and satisfaction of consumer demand is the hallmark of Capitalism. Washington D.C. can only impede the economy.
Our Nation's strong economy is no accident. It is the result of the hard work of the American people and pro-growth policies in Washington. Starting in 2001, my Administration delivered the largest tax relief since Ronald Reagan was in the White House. Our tax relief has left $1.1 trillion in the hands of citizens like you to save, and spend, and invest as you see fit.	A "Pro-Growth" Policy in Washington is one which keeps Washington from obstructing America's Business. A "Pro-Growth" policy is an zero-government policy.
Over the past three years, we have also held the growth of annual domestic spending close to one percent -- well below the rate of inflation. The result is a thriving and resilient economy that is the envy of the world.	Bush is correct when he says that a a thriving and resilient economy is the "result" of cutting government spending.
Over the past six years, our economy has overcome serious challenges: a stock market decline, recession, corporate scandals, an attack on our homeland, and the demands of an ongoing war on terror. Despite these obstacles, our economy recovered and tax revenues soared, and America is now in a position to balance the Federal budget. To achieve this goal, I sent Congress a budget plan this February that would keep taxes low, restrain Federal spending, and put us in surplus by 2012.	"Corporate scandals" in the private sector are nothing compared with budgetary scandals in Washington. The private sector fires ten times more managers than Washington does. The private sector penalizes waste, inefficiency and budgetary fraud; Washington rewards waste with higher appropriations. If private sector financial accountability were applied to Washington, hundreds of bureaucrats would go to jail. Hundreds of Billions of dollars have been wasted or are simply unaccounted for.
Next week, my Administration will release a report called the Mid-Session Review, which will provide you with an update on our Nation's progress in meeting the goal of a balanced budget. We know from experience that when we pursue policies of low taxes and spending restraint, the economy grows, tax revenues go up, and the deficit goes down.	Again, the President admits that economic growth is a result of government shrinkage. But our goal should not be to increase tax revenues. Increased tax revenues should be returned to the taxpayers and more government bureaucracies should be abolished.
Democratic leaders in Congress want to take our country down a different track. They are working to bring back the failed tax-and-spend policies of the past. The Democrats' budget plan proposes $205 billion in additional domestic spending over the next five years and includes the largest tax increase in history. No nation has ever taxed and spent its way to prosperity. And I have made it clear that I will veto any attempt to take America down this road.	The Bush Administration has proven to be a bigger spender than the Clinton Administration. Teach Republicans a Lesson
Democrats in Congress are also behind schedule passing the individual spending bills needed to keep the Federal government running. At their current pace, I will not see a single one of the 12 must-pass bills before Congress leaves Washington for the month-long August recess. The fiscal year ends September 30th. By failing to do the work necessary to pass these important bills by the end of the fiscal year, Democrats are failing in their responsibility to make tough decisions and spend the people's money wisely.	See? Bush wants more spending.     Government never ever spends the people's money as wisely as the people do.
This moment is a test. Under our Constitution, Congress holds the power of the purse. Democratic leaders are in control of Congress. They set the schedule for when bills are considered. They determine when votes are held. Democrats have a chance to prove they are for open and transparent government by working to complete each spending bill independently and on time. I urge Democrats in Congress to step forward now and pass these bills one at a time.	Neal Boortz has suggested attaching "The Boortz Addendum" to every appropriation bill offered in Congress. This addendum would read something like this: Every sponsor or co-sponsor of this legislation hereby affirms his or her belief that the need for the federal government of the United States to spend taxpayer funds on the purposes outlined herein is of greater importance and urgency than any spending needs which the party or parties who actually earned these funds may have; such needs being, but not necessarily limited to, spending for medical care, child care, housing, food, clothing, transportation, education, insurance, savings and retirement planning, and religious tithes or conscientious charity.
As they do, I will insist they restrain spending so we can keep our government running -- while sustaining our growing economy and getting our budget into balance. And to help achieve these goals, I call on the Senate to act on my nomination of Jim Nussle as Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Jim is a former Chairman of the House Budget Committee, and he will be a strong advocate for protecting your tax dollars here in Washington.	It became common during the Clinton Administration to speak of government spending as an "investment." Congress might also therefore attach the following to each spending bill: By voting for this legislation I hereby affirm my belief that the information and knowledge possessed by me and 434 other Congressman-"investors" is greater than the collective knowledge and information possessed by a Free Market of 150 million individual investors, pension fund managers, insurance company executives, mutual fund administrators, and brokers, all of whom do not have the luxury of obtaining investment funds by passing a law, but must earn their investment dollars.
By setting clear budget priorities and maintaining strong fiscal discipline, we can promote economic growth and bring our budget into balance. Our Nation has the most innovative, industrious, and talented people on the face of the Earth. And when we unleash the entrepreneurial spirit of our country, there is no limit to what the American people can achieve, or the hope and opportunity we can pass on to future generations.	This is the strength of our economy, not politicians and bureaucrats in Washington. To unleash the entrepreneurial spirit of our country, we need to abolish entire cabinet departments and major bureaucracies, as a start. Our goal is not to raise tax revenue by cutting tax rates, but to slash government spending.
Thank you for listening.

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The Democrat Party Radio Address: 

"Good morning. My name is Tim Roemer, I'm from Indiana and I served as a member of the 9/11 Commission."

A Libertarian Response to Democrats:

• The 9/11 Commission was designed to cover-up government evils and increase government power.
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• The solution to terrorist threats is the same as it was before 9/11: eliminate military intervention by the federal government in foreign lands; end the quest for U.S. hegemony in the Middle East.

The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations is in extending our commercial relations to have with them as little political connection as possible."
— Washington, Farewell Address (1796) [Washington’s emphasis]

I deem [one of] the essential principles of our government, and consequently [one] which ought to shape its administration,…peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none.
— Jefferson, First Inaugural Address (1801) 

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