Quote of the Day:
“(The King) has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.” – Declaration of Independence
Our name describes our goal. We want to downsize the Federal State. But the little states need dramatic downsizing too. For instance, Michael Hodges shows that . . .
- There would be 12.4 million fewer state and local employees if the number hired had remained proportional to population growth since 1946.
- The cost of state and local government went from 6% of GDP in 1946 to 18% today
- If state and local spending was proportional to 1946, the taxpayer would save $4,600 this year alone.
Even worse, all the extra spending at the state and local level seems to be buying you more corruption, more incompetence, and more abuse . . .
- In Chicago, expensive surveillance cameras record your activities, but it’s ILLEGAL for you to video-record incidents of police brutality
- In Rosa Parks’ old neighborhood, the city of Montgomery, AL is bulldozing the homes of African-Americans without their consent, and without due process, while making the victims pay for it!
- Michigan is protecting massage practitioners from new competition, making it a felony to practice without a license
- In Cleveland it takes 18 months for a business to cut through red tape in order to expand
- Wisconsin (and other states) have negotiated with public servant unions using money it doesn’t have
And you could probably list your own examples.
Federal aid to states and localities encourages this bad behavior. Local politicians end up being loyal to federal politicians and bureaucrats instead of the local taxpayers they supposedly serve. Federal bailouts for distressed states and towns will only make this problem worse.
Fortunately, Sen. David Vitter has introduced a short and sweet State Bailout Prevention to prevent this.
If you oppose state bailouts because you think states and localities should downsize instead, please tell Congress to support this bill using DownsizeDC.org’s No Bailouts campaign.
You may borrow from or copy this letter . . .
State and local politicians have tripled their spending over the past 65 years. They should downsize instead. That’s why I support S.251, the State Bailout Prevention Act.
This bill would prohibit the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve Board from providing funds or issuing credit to bailout states and localities. This bill . . .
- Advances the principles of federalism, self-government, and the Tenth Amendment
- Codifies into law what Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said on January 7, that the states “should not expect loans from the Fed.”
- Prevents the Federal State from increasing its own debt in order to aid irresponsible states and localities
Some areas weathered the economic crisis better than others. Their residents shouldn’t be forced, through federal taxes, to reward corruption and incompetence in other places. In the interest of justice, support S.251!
You may send your letter using DownsizeDC.org’s Educate the Powerful System.
And we encourage you to spread this message. “Like” us on Facebook and share this post with your friends.
James Wilson, Assistant Communications Director
DownsizeDC.org
