On this eve of tax day April 15, 2008 this Libertarian Presidential candidate declares that the buck stops here. Today we are going to change the way we think and debate about taxing and spending forever more. Today my economic team and I are releasing the most powerful and no doubt controversial (at least to those who support big government) one-two punch in the history of political debate on “taxation and spending.�
Today we do more than talk. Today we do more than complain. Today we offer real solutions.
For years Presidents – Democrat and Republican alike – have argued for the line-item veto, a power available to most state governors to cut out unnecessary spending from government budgets. Presidents have claimed they are powerless to stop Congress from spending the money without this powerful and mystical weapon. They were not so powerless after all. Just unwilling to use the tools already at hand.
Congress finally enacted the Line Item Veto Act of 1996 and during one year Bill Clinton exercised this veto power 82 times for $2 billion in savings. The joy for American taxpayers was short-lived. The United States Supreme Court in 1998 declared such a power unconstitutional in Clinton v. City of New York.
So, what can a Root Administration do to stem the tide of spending without the line-item veto?
While the legislative branch has the power to appropriate funds, it is the executive branch that has the power to spend these funds.
If elected, the Root administration will exercise a power that is much stronger than a line-item veto. That power provided for in the Constitution is known as “impoundment.�
Thomas Jefferson (arguably the most Libertarian President in U.S. history) first exercised this power in 1801, when he refused to spend $50,000 in appropriated funds for some Navy gunboats, returning the funds to the U.S. Treasury.
Many presidents have exercised this power ever since, the last being Richard Nixon, who attempted to curb runaway spending. But Congress- at a time when Nixon was weak from his criminal scandals- seized the opportunity to overstep its bounds by passing the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, which took away the president’s unilateral power not to spend money. Nixon’s argument was based on Executive powers, and not on the Constitutional duty of the Presidency.
Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution requires that the President take an oath to solemnly swear that he will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of his ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
Most government spending today is in violation of Article I, Section 8 of our Constitution and no congress can require that the President violate his oath of office.
This President will dare to go where no previous president in modern history has dared go.
If elected, this President will invite a showdown with Congress that could go all the way to the US Supreme Court.
This President will impound every last red cent of spending that violates the Constitution.
Today we finally offer real hope for America’s beleaguered taxpayers. Today we prove that dramatic cuts to both spending and taxes are not only possible, but doable. A rapid, responsible, and intelligent downsizing of the Federal Government is possible. State’s will be given time to determine if they want the option to continue the services not authorized by the Constitution. The money saved will give them all the options.
Today we unleash the powerful ideas about the way government should be run (and cut) proposed by Barry Goldwater- the belief that dramatic tax cuts must be accompanied by dramatic spending cuts to be effective and successful.
This proposal on dramatically starving the federal government will be followed within hours by a second proposal to eliminate all federal income taxes forever more. It is a one-two punch to the very gut of all proponents of big government and their �tax and spend� philosophy.
If elected President, this small businessman and citizen politician will lead a revolution to starve the federal government back to its proper Constitutional size- and most importantly, to give the power (and the money) back to the people (and taxpayers) of the United States of America to spend as they deem fit.
Previous Republican presidents have talked about eliminating the Department of Education; this President will not sign the checks that keep the department open. States have enough bureaucracy in education as it is. If they want more bureaucrats then the billions saved can surely provide it. All unfunded mandates will disappear. Maybe then the fine teachers in our schools can begin teaching again.
When this President is done, a whole alphabet soup of governmental agencies in violation of the Constitution will die for lack of funding.
Imagine a Federal government where there is no:
· Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
· African Development Foundation
· Agency for International Development
· American Battle Monuments Commission
· Amtrak
· Appalachian Regional Commission
· Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board
· Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, & Firearms
· Bureau of Arms Control
· Bureau of Labor Statistics
· Bureau of Transportation Statistics
· Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
· Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigations Board
· Commission on Civil Rights
· Commodity Futures Trading Commission
· Consumer Product Safety Commission
· Corporation For National Service
· Drug Enforcement Administration
· Environmental Protection Agency
· Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
· Export-Import Bank of the U.S.
· Farm Credit Administration
· Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board
· Federal Aviation Administration
· Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
· Federal Election Commission (FEC)
· Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
· Federal Highway Administration
· Federal Housing Finance Board
· Federal Labor Relations Authority
· Federal Maritime Commission
· Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service
· Federal Mine Safety & Health Review Commission
· Federal Railroad Administration
· Federal Reserve System
· Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board
· Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
· Food & Drug Administration (FDA)
· Ginnie Mae
· Institute of Museum and Library Services
· Inter-American Development Bank
· Inter-American Foundation
· International Bank for Reconstruction & Development
· International Labor Organization
· International Monetary Fund
· International Trade Commission
· Legal Services Corporation
· Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
· National Aeronautics and Space Administration
· National Archives and Records Administration
· National Bioethics Advisory Commission
· National Capital Planning Commission
· National Commission on Libraries and Information Science
· National Council on Disability
· National Credit Union Administration
· National Endowment for the Arts
· National Endowment for the Humanities
· National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
· National Institute of Mental Health
· National Institutes of Health
· National Labor Relations Board
· National Mediation Board
· National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration
· National Park Service
· National Science Foundation (NSF)
· National Skill Standards Board
· National Technology Transfer Center (NTTC)
· National Telecommunications Information Administration
· National Transportation Safety Board
· Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation
· Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission
· Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight
· Office of Thrift Supervision
· Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development
· Organization of American States
· Overseas Private Investment Corp.
· Pan American Health Organization
· Peace Corps
· Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)
· Railroad Retirement Board (RRB)
· Securities Investor Protection Corp.
· Selective Service System (SSS)
· Smithsonian Institution
· Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration
· Surface Transportation Board
· Tennessee Valley Authority
· Trade and Development Agency
· U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
· U.S. Forest Service
· U.S. Institute of Peace
· U.S. Marshals Service
· U.S. Office of Government Ethics – Has this agency ever even been used?
· United Nations Information Center
· Voice of America (VOA)
· White House Fellows
· White House Commission on Remembrance
· Women’s History Commission
And this list is just scratching the surface. A more complete list would be too long to read. Almost every task that is currently performed at the federal level can be pushed back to the states- assuming any state believes it is actually needed. As we said, rapid, responsible and intelligent transitions will be the order of the day.
A Wayne Root administration will take the Presidential Oath of Office to heart and seriously cut back the size of government in a way that has never been imagined in modern times. If it is not authorized by the constitution, it will not be funded by President Root. No unconstitutional program will be left untouched.
When we are done, the U.S. Government will be so small that it will be a one-line listing in the white pages of your local telephone directory.
This upcoming Root Presidential campaign will bring a vision of a bold Libertarian future, where America does not engage in nation-building, but still remains vigilant and strong enough to defend ourselves from any foreign attack; a vision where America is restored once again to its constitutional tradition of limited government, non-interventionism, peace and freedom; a vision where future generations will read and recite how the Libertarian Party brought individual rights and personal freedom back to our land. Our Founding Fathers will finally rest in peace.
We are onto something much bigger than all of us and the time is right.
Today is the day to join the Wayne Root campaign for President of these United States.
Root for Liberty! Root for Freedom! Root for America!
To read part 2, click Here
Wayne Allyn Root is a Libertarian Presidential candidate. For more about Wayne and his bold stands on important political issues, go to: www.ROOTforAmerica.com
This message is authorized and approved by Wayne Allyn Root and the ROOT for America campaign.
ROOT for America
2505 Anthem Village Drive Ste E318
Henderson, NV 89052
Treasurer: Jeff Dimit
