WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) authored the following op-ed for the Montgomery Advertiser about the astronomical $3,500,000,000,000 price tag of Democrats’ tax and spend spree that does not represent the needs of our country.
Biden’s $3.5 Trillion Spending Spree Full of Items Americans Can’t Afford, Don’t Want
Tommy Tuberville
Montgomery Advertiser
August 19, 2021
President Biden and Democrats in Congress want to spend three and a half trillion of your taxpayer dollars on a progressive wish list that would make President Obama blush. You read that right: $3,500,000,000,000. That’s a lot of zeroes on a price tag the American people can’t afford, and on things they don’t want.
To put the $3.5 trillion number in perspective, think of it like this: even if you spent $5 million per day, every single day of the year, it would still take almost 2,000 years to reach $3.5 trillion. That’s almost the same amount of time between the birth of Jesus Christ and today!
Democrats’ reckless spending spree comes at a time when our national debt is already more than $28.6 trillion. Hardworking families in the United States don’t operate this way: they have to live within their means and exercise fiscal responsibility and restraint. State governments like Alabama’s must have a balanced budget every year: it’s in the state constitution. There’s no reason the federal government can’t do the same. Spending trillions we don’t have means our country has to borrow money, and that means we put future generations in deeper debt to countries like China.
But the astronomical price tag of President Biden and Democrats’ reckless spending spree and what that will do to our economy is not the only issue here. The other problem with this budget resolution is the items they want to spend your money on. In their recently passed budget resolution, Democrats included money for free college, expanded welfare programs with no work requirements, and blanket amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants, among others.
The United States of America was built on hard work, grit, and determination – not massive entitlements from the federal government. But President Biden and Democrats’ spending plan will add 21 million Americans to federal welfare programs. The more dependency on government grows, the further the American Dream gets. Democrats’ goal isn’t just to spend more money but completely transform our society to fit a socialist vision. That’s a far cry from the bipartisanship President Biden promised when he took office.
What’s even worse is that the Democrats don’t seem to mind that paying for this massive amount of spending will fall squarely on the shoulders of hardworking Americans at a time when so many around our country can afford it the least. Democrats say that all their new spending is “paid for” by raising taxes on wealthy individuals and large corporations. Taxing a big company may sound good at first to some, until those businesses have to pass the new costs onto consumers trying to buy groceries, diapers, or a lawnmower. When taxes go up, the government wins, and the people lose.
At the same time, more government spending will continue to fuel rising inflation. Prices on consumer goods went up 5.4% in July of this year, building on another 5.4% in June. Gasoline prices are up almost 50% from the same time last year. Inflation is a direct tax on poor Americans who are on strict budgets and can’t afford these types of price hikes on the items they buy every day.
The inflation numbers we see today are after the Democrats spent $1.9 trillion on a “rescue package” earlier this year – how much worse will inflation get once they spend $3.5 trillion more?
There are plenty of serious problems facing the American people today that are in urgent need of Congress’s attention. Illegal border crossings hit a 20-year high this July, and they have risen every single month of President Biden’s term. Violent crime is surging in big cities as Democrats embrace “defund the police” policies and rhetoric. China continues to challenge the United States for global superiority and is actively expanding its nuclear arsenal.
Congress should focus on addressing these very real challenges, rather than chasing progressive pipe-dreams for a socialist entitlement state. If we as a country don’t get our fiscal house in order soon, our children and grandchildren will be saddled with the crushing debt burden of the Democrats’ worst spending dreams for generations to come.
Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, and HELP Committees.
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