Failed Stimulus Policy Continues

Budget-conscious Americans were able to breathe a sigh of relief when Congress adjourned for the August recess. With lawmakers leaving Washington to spend a few weeks back home, taxpayer dollars seemed temporarily safe from the months-long Democratic spending rampage. After the failed $787 billion stimulus and $1 trillion health care takeover, a few weeks without passage of new legislation were set to provide welcome relief from President Obama's deficit-busting spending requests.

But then Speaker Pelosi called the House back into session. What prompted the Democratic leader to summon legislators back to Washington from all across the country, at great expense to taxpayers? Was it emergency spending cuts to alleviate the national debt crisis? Tax reform to help struggling families and businesses stay afloat? Of course not. The Democratic majority called a special session of Congress to raise spending yet again.

At a cost of $26 billion in new education and Medicaid spending and $9.8 billion in new taxes on businesses, the latest so-called stimulus bill is touted by Democrats as a job-saving measure. But even the typically left-leaning Washington Post described the bill as "more of an election-year favor for teachers unions than an optimal use of public resources." The newspaper's editorial page pointed out that the "teacher layoff 'crisis'" cited by Democrats as the driving force behind the legislation is "exaggerated," noting that Maryland will receive $179 million in funds despite having reported no anticipated layoffs. In fact, several of the state's schools were in the process of hiring new teachers, according to the Baltimore Sun.

Some school districts are not so fortunate and actually have lost education jobs. However, temporary intervention from the federal government is not an effective long-term solution -- and will actually help perpetuate the reckless spending responsible for the budget woes in many states. Statistics show that state spending has increased an average of 6 percent per year from 1999 to 2009, far outstripping income or economic growth. The media is full of recent reports of outrageous fiscal mismanagement by local and state governments -- from the small town city manager in California with an $800,000 salary to thousands of retired public workers in New York drawing tax-exempt yearly pensions in the amount of $100,000.

By contrast, Oklahoma has demonstrated that it is possible for states to live within their means -- even when it requires difficult decisions. Our state should not have to foot the bill so that other states can avoid the tough choices that have so far helped spare Oklahoma from the painfully high unemployment that prevails in much of the nation.

Oklahoma taxpayers are tired of the federal government spending their hard-earned money on one misguided stimulus bill after another. President Obama's previous stimulus packages have done nothing but prolong the economic crisis by deepening America's debt. This latest effort to throw money at the problem may score political points, but it will not create jobs or get the economy moving. We need to be cutting spending, not convening special votes to pass even more spending we can't afford. With each failed stimulus bill, it becomes more obvious: We can't borrow and spend our way to economic prosperity.

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