by Rep. Tom Latham (IA)

On Sunday, April 26th, the federal government will have burned through all the revenue it will take in this fiscal year and will begin piling up debt for the next five months.  All the money spent in Washington the rest of the 2009 fiscal year, which ends about five months from now on September 30th, will either be borrowed from other countries or “borrowed” (a word that implies that our children and grandchildren had some say in the matter) from future generations.
 
Both options will increase the federal debt and hinder the ability of millions of American families struggling with the recession to improve their economic standing.  Americans everywhere are scouring their budgets and looking for ways to save at the same time Washington is overloading them with debt and taxes.
 
The wasteful $787 billion stimulus package and the staggering $3.6 trillion budget resolution passed by Congress recently will only add to the national debt and prolong the economic pain of the taxpayers. The American people know that we can’t borrow and spend our way to prosperity.  The real solution to the country’s economic problems lies in reining in federal spending, eliminating government waste and reducing the tax burden on American families.