By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
In an address to the U.S. House of Representatives Congressman Mo Brooks (R) from Huntsville urged the federal government to be financially responsible and stop killing job creation which he said is necessary to allow America to prosper.
Congressman Brooks said, “Since 1980, America’s per capita federal spending has exploded to five times more than 1948 levels. The result? America faces a skyrocketing $17 trillion debt burden. America must stop kicking the debt can down the road to a day when the debt challenge is even more daunting. The time to act is now, while America has sufficient economic strength to succeed. We cannot wait until America is bankrupt and defenseless, our currency is valueless, and we are overwhelmed by closed businesses, lost jobs, and poverty.”
Rep. Brooks said, “America’s choice is between economic depression brought about by socialist, heavy-handed, bureaucratic, big brother economic policies and prosperity brought about by policies centered on free enterprise, individual liberty, and faith in the American people – the same economic policies and freedoms that made America the greatest nation in world history.”
Rep. Brooks said, “America must stop kicking the debt can down the road to a day when the debt challenge is even more daunting. The time to act is now, while America has sufficient economic strength to succeed. We cannot wait until America is bankrupt and defenseless, our currency is valueless, and we are overwhelmed by closed businesses, lost jobs, and poverty.
Brooks continued, “To preserve the liberty and prosperity our ancestors sacrificed to give us, we must free Americans to again earn their own prosperity, and significantly cut federal non-defense spending to restore financial responsibility and provide the stable monetary environment needed for economic growth. If the federal government will be financially responsible and stop killing job creation, America’s economy will soar because we have, within our grasp, a massive new technology and energy boom.”
Brooks said, “In 1945, at the end of World War II, America’s federal debt to gross domestic product ratio was 120 percent. Washington responded with leadership. In 1946, the federal budget was slashed a massive 40 percent.
In 1947, the federal budget was slashed by another 38 percent. The result? America rose to the challenge and America prospered. By 1980, even though per-capita inflation adjusted federal spending had tripled, federal debt had shrunk to 30 percent of GDP.”
Brooks said that since 1980, America’s per capita federal spending has exploded to five times 1948 levels resulting in a skyrocketing $17 trillion debt burden.
Brooks said, “We must free Americans to again earn their prosperity and significantly cut federal non-defense spending to restore financial responsibility and provide the stable monetary environment needed for economic growth.”
Brooks concluded that, “Congress must use the debt limit, the budget, appropriations bills, and every other means available to free America from the growing burden of crushing debt and a dictatorial federal bureaucracy.”
Although the unemployment rate has dropped in both Alabama and the nation since it peaked during the Great Recession, total labor has actually declined since the recession ended even though the population due to births and immigration has increased. More and more Americans have left the labor force and many Americans who are working are underemployed. There are fewer jobs than in 2008 despite federal deficits that have averaged a $trillion a year. Instead of spending those large amounts on infrastructure like highways or on a defense buildup those increases in federal spending went to entitlements like: Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, extended unemployment, social security, disability, welfare, etc.
Congressman Mo Brooks represents Alabama’s Fifth Congressional District.
