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Heading Towards Reform,Away From Fiscal Irresponsibility

The Securing America’s Future Economy (SAFE) Commission Act establishes a national commission to examine these systems and present long-term solutions to place the United States on a fiscally sustainable course and ensure the solvency of entitlement programs for future generations. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) has introduced a similar bill in the House.Last week I voted against the fiscally irresponsible repeal of the estate tax and called on Congress to heed Americans’ demand for fundamental tax and entitlement reform. This legislation shows that I am serious about that call.

The reported deficit for FY2005 was $318 billion and that’s not taking into account the funds borrowed from the Social Security Trust Fund, which brings the total to nearly $500 billion. Even more, when utilizing the Department of Treasury’s accrual accounting method, the deficit is a disturbing $760 billion. Also, the national debt has increased from $5.6 trillion in 1999 to $8.4 trillion today, an increase of 50 percent. Full repeal of the estate tax beginning in 2007 through 2016 would cost $368 billion according to the Joint Committee on Taxation.

As a fiscal conservative, I believe we must focus on simplifying the tax code and ensuring the solvency of our entitlement programs.

 

 

Tags Business Classical liberalism Conservatism Deficit reduction in the United States Economic policy Expenditures in the United States federal budget Fiscal conservatism Fiscal policy Frank Wolf Liberalism Politics Public economics Social Security Value added tax

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