Gary Palmer: Excessive government spending is a bi-partisan problem

  It is time for Republicans in Congress to cut federal spending as promised and keep faith with the voters who put them back in the majority.

  According to a report released on February 8th from Rasmussen Reports, 1954 was the last time government spending in the U.S. declined in one year's time. Federal, state and local governments alike are now reaping the consequences of decades of excessive spending and poor stewardship of taxpayers' money. Unlike the federal government that can print more money, state and local governments are being forced to balance budgets or risk going bankrupt. In a February 7th article, The Wall Street Journal reported that "Governors around the U.S. are proposing to balance their state's budgets with a long list of cuts and almost no new taxes, reflecting a goal by politicians from both parties to erase deficits chiefly by shrinking government. So, if states can do it, why can't the federal government?"

  That is a good question that Democrats and Republicans alike should have to answer.