Economy

The economy certainly seems to be a hot topic these days. Problems are widespread, and the solutions being offered by government don't seem to be making things better. In some ways, they are making things worse.

Some have said that deficits don't matter. The federal government certainly acts like they believe it. But I consider the rapidly growing national debt like a crack in the foundation of our house. When it gets big enough, the house will collapse. We can't predict when, or how suddenly. But I don't want to reach that point. Now is the time to cut spending. As representative, that would be my #1 job related to the economy.

I've broken down some more of my thoughts on the economy into categories and listed them here.

Jobs

Unemployment can be devastating - to families and to communities. But there is one thing we must understand: government does not create meaningful jobs. Only the private sector can create the kinds of jobs that will improve the heath of the economy.

The vast majority of jobs in this country are provided by small and medium sized businesses. The best thing government could do to promote job growth is to get out of the way of the job creators. Reduce the tax and fee burdens, reduce the regulatory burdens, and focus on leveling the playing field to promote more competition. By doing this, the government will reward innovation, and reward productivity. In turn this will allow business owners to keep their profits, and reinvest as they see fit.

Stimulus

The $787 billion stimulus bill which Congress approved last year was wrong. I would not have voted for it, nor any other like it.

Spending federal money to stimulate the economy is based on an antiquated model. At one time, the federal government could take money sitting idle in our national treasure, and inject it into the economy. That would increase the flow of money and stimulate the economy.

Now the national treasure consists of a pile of I.O.U.s. To inject federal money into the economy requires taking that money from somewhere else. Ultimately it is taken from taxpaying citizens and corporations. Taking money from the most productive and successful members of society, and spending it on politician's pet projects, actually has a net negative effect on the economy. We would be better off reducing taxes, and letting the taxpayers decide how to spend the money they've earned.

Housing

The housing market in this country is going through turmoil right now, that cannot be denied. But before we ask the federal government to "do something about it", let's take a look at the real problem.

For many years, the federal government artificially inflated the housing market. This caused the price of houses to rise faster than incomes. With the recent downturn in the economy, house prices are now falling towards the levels that can be justified by supply and demand.

For the housing market to be healthy and stable, we must stop the federal government from interfering, and allow the natural checks and balances of the free market to regain control.

Some of the programs in place right now may succeed in re-inflating the housing bubble. But only temporarily; and at a great cost.

Bailouts, Rescues, Too Big To Fail

For a gross example of how our government has overstepped its bounds, and failed to represent the American people, you need look no further than the situation with bailouts and rescues. The headlines and blogsphere are filled with outrage resulting from these acts. But what can we do about it?

First we must identify who is ultimately responsible. That would be the US Congress, plain and simple. Our elected representatives have written the bills authorizing the bailouts, and passed them into law.

As voters, we must do everything in our power to replace those who have voted in favor of the bills, and to make sure that any candidates we vote for clearly understand why this is wrong for the American people, and have clearly stated their position against future government support of specific corporations and industries.

Monetary System

Our monetary system affects all of us, almost every day. To many, the monetary system is too boring, or too complicated to warrant casual conversation. Some may ignore it because "it just works". Well, it doesn't.

Our money consists of pieces of paper, with numbers printed on them. Those numbers give them arbitrary value, much like the game of Monopoly. The amount of money available, and the interest rate charged to some banks for borrowing it, are decided by a group of private individuals called the Federal Reserve board. They do this without control by, or insight from, our elected officials. The system is founded on our trust that they will act in the best interest of the American people.

When you give a group of individuals the power to create all the money they wish, and allow them to do nearly whatever they please with it, you create a system that is prone to mistakes and misuse. This results in most of the economic problems we're having today, including bubbles, booms and busts, and inflation.

I believe that our current monetary system must be dismantled, and replaced by a sound money system, as it was described in the Constitution. I believe Congress must regain control of this system so that ultimately, it is controlled by the people.

To these ends, I support the bills to increase transparency into the Federal Reserve's actions. I support the Fair Competition in Currency Act to allow us to start making the transition to a more sound system.