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As a single mom, when my kids come home from school and tell me, "Oops, we overspent our allowance again," I do not reward them by signing them up for a credit card with no spending limit. This is exactly what recently happened in Washington last week. 

The "adults" in the room have once again overspent their allowance – an allowance given to them by American taxpayers – at historically high levels no less.  

When consumers "default" they can lose their homes or other valuable assets and creditors come after them. When the federal government does it, D.C. just raises its limit to limitless. No credit card company would ever do that for the average person, yet the federal government has done it 98 times since World War II. Washington is never held accountable and there is no incentive to spend responsibly

SEN. JOSH HAWLEY: AMERICA UNDER JOE BIDEN IS A LAND OF SCARCITY AND WANT

Washington worked overtime to raise the debt ceiling this month. The powers in Washington have given the American people a false choice, claiming that raising the debt ceiling is the only option to avoid defaulting on our debt. This is a myth. 

If your credit card company suddenly didn’t raise your limit and you had to stop borrowing, does this mean you can’t make your payment? No. It means you have to spend less. Maybe a lot less. 

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Here’s the dirty little secret: if we cut spending and limit borrowing, then we will not default. But don’t tell Washington. 

In the past, Congress has raised the debt ceiling because of massive spending on both sides of the aisle. For decades, Republicans wanted greater defense spending; in return, Democrats received more money to expand the federal government.  

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This month, raising the debt ceiling gave way to levels of spending never before seen. It will give way to massive government growth and overreach into our personal lives, even into our bank accounts, and into how parents are allowed, or not, to educate their kids.   

It is difficult to comprehend the amount of money Washington wants to spend. Take the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, which includes $40 billion for roads and bridges – that’s 3% of an infrastructure bill for roads and bridges. They want to spend an additional $3.5 trillion on a budget written by self-avowed socialists Bernie Sanders and AOC for spending they couldn’t jam into the wasteful infrastructure bill.  

They told you this budget is paid for (it isn’t). 

To pay for all of this spending, the American taxpayer will foot the bill with one of the largest tax hikes in American history. Raising taxes on job creators will lead to even more job losses and lower wages, and all this just as we start to climb out of government-imposed restrictions and lockdowns on businesses. 

It’s past time we downgrade the federal government’s unlimited platinum card to one with a credit limit.

Taxes will go up, and not just for the rich or corporations as you’ve been told. Taxes will go up for every single American.  

And inflation at this level means taxation at all levels. So far this year, inflation has increased by 6%, outpacing wage growth by 3%. As things cost more, we all pay more. That’s true at the grocery store, the gas pump and your next car purchase. This is the result of skyrocketing inflation, wasteful spending, slow economic growth and shutdowns – all stemming from poor policies and incompetent leadership in Washington.  

I’m holding on to my 2011 Chevy for as long as possible! At this rate, I don’t want a new car payment, and I imagine, neither do you.  

The federal government’s tax revenue stands at approximately $3.8 trillion per year. This means we are borrowing nearly half of every dollar spent.  

Our national debt is now $28 trillion or over $200,000 per taxpayer. At our current spending levels, if the federal government cut spending to cover its debts, it would have to cut 40%, and that’s before the debt ceiling and before AOC and Bernie Sanders have their way.  

Adults in the room know the devil is always in the details. It gets worse... 

Their shopping spree initially included 87,000 new IRS agents to audit individuals and businesses who have a $600 or more balance or transaction in their bank account. After significant public outcry, the threshold was raised to $10,000. Either way, this is totally off the rails. It’s beyond an invasion of privacy. It’s straight up CCP-style socialism.  

Wait, there’s more. Their shopping spree will include billions of dollars for mass amnesty, but no money for a wall to help secure our southern border. It will include billions on Social Security, education and health care for illegal immigrants as well. More spending everywhere and no cost controls anywhere.  

This isn’t acceptable or responsible, Nor is it sustainable. This economic plan will lead to economic ruin, and I don’t want any part of it. 

Does Washington need to borrow more in the short term? Probably. Should Washington do it with unlimited borrowing and no plan to rein in spending? Absolutely not. 

It’s past time we downgrade the federal government’s unlimited platinum card to one with a credit limit, one that requires us to cut our spending, balance our budget, and be more responsible with the money we have.  

This is why I support fiscally conservative plans like the Balanced Budget Amendment and the Penny Plan to cut wasteful spending and get our budget under control. 

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By the way, in the time it took you to read this, the federal government spent another $14 million we don’t have. 

Governments shut businesses down at every turn during the height of the pandemic. When businesses were shut down, they made tough decisions to cover their losses to keep their people employed. Shouldn’t we demand the federal government cut its spending to cover its losses just like the government forced businesses to do? 

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE REP. NANCY MACE