John Boehner: Say No To More Red Ink

We just returned from the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC. Every year it showcases the latest ideas and initiatives of the conservative movement. This year a new effort caught my eye because it has the potential to radically transform America.

The campaign has been dubbed the “No More Red Ink Campaign,” by its strategic mastermind, Joseph Farah, who is widely known for his writing at (and founding of) WND. The concept is brilliant in its simplicity, and we immediately endorsed the effort.

The strategy is brilliant because it gives the Republicans the restructuring they claim to want, and they don’t have to do anything to achieve victory. They merely sit on their hands.

Without the ability to mortgage the future of America’s children, Obama will have to cut spending. He makes the decisions, and he suffers the consequences of his past overspending folly.

Here are the rough numbers. The United States is currently more than $15 trillion in debt. Five trillion of this debt has come under Obama. The debt ratio of the United States is greater than our Gross Domestic Product and worse than Greece. Only the low interest rates and quantitative easing of the Federal Reserve has kept the United States solvent.

So, if we don’t increase the debt limit later this year, government will be forced to adopt a new spending plan that cuts about $1 trillion. This is nearly the amount Ron Paul has insisted be cut from the budget if he is elected president. The cuts would be tough, but they are both prudent and necessary to restore fiscal order.

Like any insolvent business or family, the U.S. Government needs to bring spending in line with tax revenues. Targets would need to be immediately achieved without the ability to overspend. Departments that provide little productive activity, such as the Department of Education, Commerce, Labor and Energy, could be immediately eliminated.

All corporate welfare, bailouts, TARP, etc. would be eliminated. All duplicate programs would be stopped. Most discretionary spending and earmarks would become ancient history. A lack of new debt would create pressure to eliminate fraud in the essential programs of government.

Medical programs, which have duplication such as Medicaid and CHIP, could be consolidated, and functions could be delegated back to the states.

Even private insurance has a role to play. Unemployment benefits could be privatized as insurance.

Food stamps could be used to strengthen the safety net as no family, child, or elderly person should go hungry in America.

Social Security would be strengthened because all of the eliminated programs won’t be siphoning money from the trust fund and benefits for current and future recipients would be protected. Hopefully, with real leadership, we could move the program toward being actuarially sound.

At the news conference announcing the effort, a host of conservative and tea-party leaders endorsed the campaign, but the best lines were reserved for journalist and WND managing editor David Kupelian. David compared the rag-tag rebels for spending and debt reform to the rebel alliance made famous in the movie “Star Wars.”

He likened the Obama administration to the Galactic Empire and their dreaded Death Star. The “No More Red Ink Campaign” in his analogy is the shot taken by Luke Skywalker from his X winged fighter which traveled down the exhaust system of the Death Star to its nuclear core. With one simple shot, Luke Skywalker defeated the Galactic Empire and saved the universe.

John Boehner, wouldn’t you like to be remembered as the “Luke Skywalker” of your generation. To achieve the status of hero, all you have to do is say no to any future borrowing and debt. You will be the hero that saved America.