John Block Reports from Washington

Hello everybody out there in farm country. This radio commentary is brought to you by the Renewable Fuels Association, Wal-Mart Stores, Monsanto, and John Deere. They are all friends, supporters, and allies of a healthy farm economy and prosperous rural America. Thank you.

And now for today’s commentary—

 How about that Tea Party movement? A year ago, nobody had even heard of them. When they burst upon the scene, all the political power brokers were making fun of them. They were a joke. Not any more!

The Tea Party’s strength is reinforced by a growing anger about the government’s insistence on throwing money at everything, driving up our national debt, and an apparent desire to manage our lives.

Government spending was growing in the years 2001 to 2007 when federal spending jumped 36%. However, the act that lit the fuse was the gigantic stimulus bill. With wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, our effort in nation building, our entitlement programs – Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security – we are piling up debt at an astounding rate. There are a lot of people in the country that think our government spends too much money. Our government tries to be all things to all people. Big government has accepted a “cradle to the grave” responsibility.

We can’t afford it. We are becoming addicted to this nanny state. We have had oil spilling in the Gulf. How much money will we have to spend to ensure that nothing like that ever happens again/ Our government must keep us safe – safe from terrorists, safe from runaway cars, safe from bad spinach, manage what we eat, put the brakes on obesity. The government’s new challenge is to reverse global warming. Perhaps I’m wrong but I’m afraid only God can do that.

Hopefully, the Tea Party movement is for real. Maybe they can help us get control of spending and our inclination to expect the government to do everything for us.

Fiscal responsibility, limited government, private property rights, personal responsibility seem to be the battle cry of the Tea Party troops. I like what I hear. If we have the courage to make some very tough decisions, we can avoid bankruptcy. We don’t want to be begging for life support like Greece.

It won’t be easy. We can’t save ourselves simply by “cutting government waste.” We will have to cut some very popular programs. How about a 5% cut across the board – no exceptions, including entitlements and defense. Is that too much to ask? Families can do it. Farms and businesses can do it. Let’s show some courage.

In closing, I would encourage you to access my website which archives my radio commentaries dating back 10 years and will go back 20 years when complete. Check on what I said back then. Go to www.johnblockreports.com.

Until next week, I am John Block in Washington.