Letter: Time to reign in federal government

The current First District Representative may not fit the resume template of the elites in the current administration or some members of Congress, but an examination of his voting record and stated positions on far-reaching legislation demonstrates to me he may have been greatly influenced by people with such resumes. Some examples include the stimulus bill, health care reform, and cap and trade.

Many say the stimulus bill was a bust because the funds were not distributed in a timely way, and were distributed based on political consideration rather than where most needed. Moreover, unemployment is higher now than what they predicted had there been no stimulus bill. The more we learn about health care reform, the more disastrous it appears. Fortunately cap and trade — an energy tax — has stalled in the Senate, but they have not given up yet.

I think it is time for sensible First District economic reality thinking by whoever we elect to represent us in the 112th Congress. Representation that understands spending money we do not have does not solve large problems; it creates larger problems. Representation that when considering how to vote listens at least as much to the voices of all the people as to the voices of party leadership. Representation working to create a stable business environment with reasonable taxes and regulations so business owners know what they need to consider as they plan for growth. Representation that promotes a federal government that minds its own business as the market creates jobs and distributes wealth.

Liberty can only be realized when the federal government’s seeming quest for more centralization of power is properly restrained.

Tags: opinion, letters, walz, congress, politics, spending