February 13th, 2009, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today condemned Congress for approving the trillion dollar spending bill that “will not do a thing to stimulate sustainable economic growth or stabilize the ailing financial system.”
“There is no way for Congress to justify the complete and utter waste of tax dollars on paying off key political constituencies: state governments, public employee unions, transportation and construction unions, the environmental lobby, the education lobby, and of course, delivering hundreds of billions of pork all across the nation,” said Wilson.
The bill totals $789 billion, or $1.1 trillion after interest. It includes roughly $97 billion in new spending programs, and $92 billion of expansions of existing federal programs.
It also includes $53.6 billion for states to balance their budgets, $45 billion of which boosts education spending, $50 billion in green energy subsidies and tax credits, $55 billion for transportation projects, make groups like ACORN eligible for up to $2 billion in neighborhood stabilization funds, extends food stamps and unemployment benefits, builds federal buildings, provides more for public housing, constructs climate change supercomputers, erects trade barriers overseas, creates refundable tax credits, and provisions for high-speed Internet service.
The final vote was 246 in favor and 183 against.
“This outright theft of the American people will only divert precious, critical capital away from the private sector by dramatically and permanently increasing government spending, thereby increasing the financial burden government poses to the economy and to future generations,” Wilson said.
Wilson predicts that the bill will saddle every American family with approximately $10 thousand of debt, and cited a CBO report that shows the GDP shrinking over the long term as a result of the legislation.
The current national debt nears $10.7 trillion, and the CBO-projected deficit without this legislation this year is $1.2 trillion. Both figures will have to be adjusted in light of legislation’s passage.
As an alternative, Wilson recommends a massive reduction of the federal budget, a plan to pay off the national debt, permanent tax relief for businesses and individuals, the privatization of the mortgage industry, the abolition of the dual mandate at the Federal Reserve, and the elimination of public financing of consumer, business, student, and homeowner debt.
“Congress has decided not to even address the root causes of the current economic calamity: easy money from the Fed coupled by the massive expansion of credit and mortgage lending by the GSE’s Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,” Wilson said.
“Instead of retiring the unsustainable expansion of debt that led to the financial crisis, Congress is only adding to it,” Wilson concluded.
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Interview Availability: Please contact Alex Rosenwald at (703)383-0880 or at arosenwald@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.
