Amash Blasts Republicans' Spending Spree

Talking to Reason.com, Congressman Justin Amash said that congressional spending is “looking as bad as any time since I’ve been in Congress.” The reason, he argues? One-party rule.

I think this tends to happen when one party has full control of government: that party starts to go on a spending spree and stops worrying about the debt and deficits. We’re going to have to be vigilant here. There have been a lot of things that have passed over the past few weeks that waste a lot of money, that spend too much. When we spend for things that the American people do want, and many people want this kind of disaster relief funding for example, then we have to make sure that we’re paying for it. We have to make sure that we make spending cuts elsewhere to pay for what’s going on today. Otherwise we’re just taxing the next generation. We’re telling the next generation of Americans that they have to pay for the stuff that we want today. That’s immoral.

Let’s stay on top of this, keep pressing members of Congress, and don’t forget about it. The Tea Party rose up a few years ago because of spending issues, because the government was getting too big. Now we have Republicans in positions of power and influence, and we have to make sure that we stay true to that message, that we want a limited government, we want spending to be brought down, and we want to get our debt under control.

The problem is that most Democrats and Republicans in Congress don’t want “spending to be brought down” at all. Why would they? They’ve perfected the art of buying votes. Give the people in this city this, give those in another city that — that’s how you keep everybody happy. Of course, there will be those who complain that the federal government is spending too much, but if actual cuts are proposed, they’ll always favor cutting someone else’s subsidies, never their own.

After all, cutting government spending is all fun and games when it doesn’t touch you, but when it does, well, it’s difficult. And nobody wants “difficult,” do they? Republicans in Congress are fully aware of that, which is why they’re actually spending more than ever before in history. The only difference is, potentially at least, they cater to a different “audience” than Democrats. The result, however, is the same: more spending, more debt, and more problems for future generations.

Although it may come as a shock to present-day politicians, that’s exactly why America’s founding fathers didn’t create a democracy but rather a constitutional republic. Sadly, in practice, it has been a “democracy” for decades now. Americans have their political elites to thank for that.