A recent report released by the National Taxpayers Union Foundation has listed Wisconsin’s own Sen. Russ Feingold as one of the United States Senate’s “fiscal disciplinarians,” ranking his policy agenda as the fifth most cost-saving in the Senate, saving taxpayers over $42 billion a year if enacted into law. Sen. Feingold is the only Democratic Senator listed in the report whose efforts resulted in net savings to taxpayers. Here’s Sen. Feingold’s statement on the results of the report:
“This report shows that a top priority of mine is to curb unnecessary government spending and protect taxpayer dollars,” Feingold said. “As we face mounting deficits, getting rid of this waste is more important than ever. I will continue to push my Control Spending Now Act to eliminate government programs that waste taxpayer dollars or are a low priority, and I will continue working to bring down the deficit.”
It’s good to see Sen. Feingold get more recognition for the work he’s done on fiscal issues as a member of the United States Senate. From his consistent opposition to earmarks to his support of a line-item veto and his Control Spending Now Act, Sen. Feingold has made fiscal responsibility one of the hallmarks of his time in office.
Let us consider that Washington, D.C’s version of “fiscal disciplinarians” is probably much different than America’s heartland, or most common sense folks who live outside of Washington, D.C. I don’t buy for a minute that Senator Russ Feingold has any ounce of fiscal discipline in him. At the same time, I question the Republican Party’s record in fiscal discipline too. I understand that you will point to President Bill Clinton’s record as president, in which he helped generate a budget surplus for the first time in decades. However, he had a Republican Congress to work with and the tension between the two branches (controlled by two different parties) meant spending increases were minimal. You also have to consider record economic growth in the 1990’s. What President George W. Bush did was inexecusible, driving the national debt from about $5.5 trillion to nearly $11 trillion. President Barack Obama is now on pace to nearly double the national debt from $11 trillion to $20 trillion. So, as far as Senator Feingo’d is concerned, if he were truly serious about being a “fiscal disciplinarian,” then he should propose a way to get our federal budget balanced. To my knowledge, he’s only proposed scaling back the federal deficit by $500 billion. However, with a $1.5 trillion national debt, it’s nothing. I am beginning to think that the career politicians in Washington, D.C. are intentionally driving this country over a financial cliff. Unfortunately, there is no other way to explain it.