Policy Documents

A Constitutional Solution to Runaway Federal Spending

Mario Loyola –
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The protections for individual freedom in the Constitution of the United States have been significantly weakened since the 1930s. Through periods of GOP as well Democratic majorities, the federal government’s authority has increased at the expense of the states and the people. During this time, the federal courts have abdicated their role as guardians of the constraints on federal power, eliminating a vital check-and-balance of our Constitution.

The federal government’s progressive expansion at the expense of the rights the Constitution meant to leave to the States and to the people

1 has come in ways big and small, subtle and not-so-subtle. Nowhere is it more obvious than in runaway federal spending. Th e current federal budget has a defi cit in excess of 10 percent of GDP, shattering all records except during World War II. Congress continues to borrow a staggering sum of money from the American economy and from every corner of the world, increasing our dependence on foreign governments, removing needed investment capital from the private economy, and burdening future generations—our children and their children—with a crushing debt. As President Barack Obama himself recently admitted, the federal deficit is among the most grave national security threats we face.

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