Every minute of the day, the federal government spends $7 million. With the national debt exceeding $14 trillion and a $1.4 trillion budget deficit, this outrageous spending rate is simply unsustainable. Politicians keep promising they will cut spending, reduce the debt and become more fiscally responsible. Instead, the debt keeps growing and Congress continues spending money it doesn’t have.
In response to the empty rhetoric about spending reform from our politicians, and just in time for Tax Day, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, a nonprofit, nonpartisan group dedicated to holding politicians on both sides of the aisle accountable for federal spending, has been started.
Today, the national debt comes to about $128,000 per person, and if our debt keeps rising at this alarming rate, the cost to future generations will be unimaginable. It is not fair for our children and grandchildren to inherit the consequences of our politicians’ reckless and wasteful spending.
The majority of Americans agree this out-of-control spending must stop. In a recent Pew Research poll, 53 percent of respondents named reducing the federal deficit as the issue that should be the government’s top priority.
However, our budget woes will not be solved if Congress only cuts $10 billion or even $100 billion. The debt will continue to grow until America’s politicians fundamentally change their attitude toward spending. The current status quo is breaking the backs of taxpayers and will only result in a bigger, bloated and increasingly inefficient government.
The Taxpayers Protection Alliance was formed to reflect the growing frustrations of Americans who are sick of having their money wasted by the representatives who are supposed to work for them.
The TPA will aggressively hold politicians accountable for the effects of their policies on the size, scope and efficiency of government and will serve as a valuable resource for those looking for information on how the federal government is spending taxpayers’ money.
In addition to offering real solutions to the current runaway deficits and debt, the TPA will publish timely, investigative reports on government waste, fraud and abuse. Leveraging both traditional and new media, the TPA aims to be a catalyst for federal spending reform by influencing politicians to take immediate action towards addressing our nation’s ballooning budget deficit. Additionally, through user-generated videos and other social media tools, the TPA will help to give taxpayers a voice loud enough to be heard by their representatives in Washington.
With cumulative deficits expected to eclipse $7.2 trillion over the next 10 years, action to reduce our debt and create a leaner, meaner government must be taken. Unfortunately, it still looks like it is business as usual in our nation’s capital. Recent negotiations in Congress on how to cut federal spending are floundering, and the threat of a government shutdown is once again in the headlines.
American workers, small-business owners and taxpayers are still struggling to survive one of the worst economic environments since the Great Depression, yet their representatives are wasting time and money playing politics.
Now, more than ever, the taxpayer needs to be heard in the budget debate. The hard work is just beginning. Our representatives must start to make the tough decisions that cut the budget and get our economy back on track.
The TPA will push the government to spend federal tax dollars in the most efficient and effective way possible and will remind politicians the money they are spending comes directly out of the American people’s pockets.
David Williams is the president of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance.
