“We need more teachers, firefighters, and policemen. We have bridges and roads that need to be fixed!” President Obama exclaimed as he gave a speech in Cincinnati, Ohio. Time and time again we are told we need more spending and more programs to get our economy moving again. Even worse, we are given the perception most Americans want bigger, bulkier, government. The fact is the contrary is true.
A recent poll from Rasmussen Reports shows that 66% of Americans believe there should be cuts in all departments. According to Rasmussen, this is the highest level of support since they started polling for this topic in August 2011.
President Obama has not laid out a vision of transparent government, rather a plan that ignores waste, and calls for more spending. Washington is consistently running trillion dollar deficits, and there’s no reason to believe that the President intends to correct this problem. Why hasn’t President Obama put forward a series of solutions to solve our debt crisis, or even make government work better and more efficiently? Instead, he has gone against his campaign promises of transparent government, when campaigning for President he said, “We need to reform our government so that it is more efficient, more transparent, and more creative. That will demand new thinking and a new sense of responsibility for every dollar that is spent.”
This past month we have seen broken promise after broken promise. Contrary to his guarantee of ‘transparent government’ we have witnessed, “Fast and Furious” become a household name. Papers regarding the operation are being withheld from the American public, only adding to the illusion of secretive and corrupt government.
President Obama promised “to return earmark spending to 1994 levels.” An independent study found that the amount earmarked in 2010 was twice as much in 1994. Furthermore, President Obama told Americans “I will cut the deficit in half by the end of my first term.” President Obama has failed miserably to cut spending, and the federal deficit has increased.
To reassure the American public of government secrecy, in 2008 then-Senator Obama promised “he will allow every non-emergency bill 5 days to be reviewed by the American public.” In May of 2009 he signed the “Credit Card Accountability Act” only two days after passed by Congress. He did not allow the American people to “review the bill” breaking another promise.
As we head into November, we will be sure to hear the same promises made by President Obama. He will try and advocate for more spending and more governmental work projects, to “stimulate growth.” He will try and make the case that government has been transparent and efficient. Before we listen to his speeches and watch his commercials; it is important that we look at his record– a record of broken promises and contradiction.
Charlie Kirk is the founder of Turning Point USA (www.turningpointusa.net) and will be attending Baylor University in the fall.