Federal Spending Limit Amendment

I don’t like the implications of a balanced budget amendment.  

Its very name leaves open the idea of increasing taxes to balance the budget. Hell, we don't even have a budget. I don’t want the Spenders and Takers to be able to grow the cost and role of Federal Government without enormous, nearly impossible, difficulty.

We do have spending.  Spending is the problem. Limit Federal spending. Limiting Federal spending to below a restricted revenue limit plus special purpose reserves and contingency funds would be a good premise for a Constitutional amendment.

Some growth, if it can be irrevocably restricted to less than or equal to annual inflation, would be permissible. Not some index that can be easily manipulated; and one that includes the costs of all goods, services and government costs.

Emergencies will always occur. Reserves and contingency funds are currently held, although often looted for silly contrived reasons, can be set aside and reserved for all kinds of eventual emergencies. Many already exist. Many more are needed or need to be enlarged and safeguarded. Disaster relief, flood insurance, Federal Deposit Insurance, Federal Emergency Management, etc already exist.

Reserves and contingency funds should be created and begin funding from existing Federal revenues by reducing failed and meaningless programs, and eliminating all expenditures not enumerated in the US Constitution or its amendments.

Unemployment contingency funds were clearly insufficient by recent example. Bank failure funding was clearly under funded. Continuing Government operations during economic impacts to revenue were clearly insufficient. I think we would find that disaster relief funds of all kinds are seriously under funded if we have actual natural disasters that could easily exceed be many times the levels of Katrina.

Man Caused disasters, have little or no reserve funds or supplies today, and terrorist attacks, anarchy, large scale lawlessness, or deliberate economic sabotage are not buffered by stored surplus supplies or funds any where near the required levels that I’ve ever heard of, other than the grossly inadequate Strategic Petroleum Reserve and a few tons of titanium.

Many more reserves of minerals and metal, clean water, safely stored food, temporary housing, diverse electrical generation, mobile medical facilities and stores of medicines must be created and managed to meet the needs of the rapidly increasing citizen populations, not just enough for our leaders and the self-appointed elite.

Here’s the equation I think is needed in fairly simple wording:

   Spend a lot less than comes in;

   Take 50% or more of the surplus revenue to retire the National debt;

   Take 50% or less of surplus revenue to fund various contingency and reserves for inevitable disasters and economic interruptions;

   If there’s anything left, invest it in stockpiles of commodities with the highest probable future needs adjusted upwardly for those most prone to interruptions;

   And lower future general tax rates to match lower future Federal government costs;

   Equals = Fiscal Responsibility

What remains would be to establish irrevocably severe penalties for anyone who steals, diverts, or mismanages reserves or contingency funds for any other silly purposes.

By “anyone” I mean Presidents and Executive Branch staff, Congress persons, foreigners, citizens, rich, poor or famous, and business and non-profit executives, especially doctors, lawyers, academics and Media celebrities each sentenced with a failed teacher of the same sex.

By “severe” I mean death or life imprisonment without parole in Guantanamo.