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Here is video of Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty on Fox News today where he discussed his plan to push for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would require a balanced budget. Pawlenty said the public is increasingly worried about Government spending, and believes it is time to do something about. He believes the constitutional amendment would be the mechanism to force both parties to do something about spending. Pawlenty is likely to run for the GOP Presidential Nomination in 2012. . . . (VIDEO)

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, considered a possible 2012 Republican presidential candidate, is calling for strict spending limits as states and the federal government confront enormous deficits. Mr. Pawlenty has proposed an amendment to the Minnesota constitution that would limit spending during any two-year budget period to the amount of revenue collected during the previous budget cycle. At a Republican fund-raiser in New Hampshire on Dec. 16, the governor also pushed the idea of an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would force Congress to pass, and the president to sign, a balanced budget. "Government spending in the country and in...

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, considered a possible 2012 Republican presidential candidate, is calling for strict spending limits as states and the federal government confront enormous deficits...At a Republican fund-raiser in New Hampshire on Dec. 16, the governor also pushed the idea of an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would force Congress to pass, and the president to sign, a balanced budget.

Truth In Accounting had an incredibly important 50 state study that needs to be broadcast far and wide. It shows the mess that every state in the union is in with the budget.When the Institute for Truth in Accounting (the IFTA) began to design “The Truth about Balanced Budgets—A Fifty State Study” (the Study) in early 2008 our purpose was to widely examine the effect accounting principles and policies have on states’ budgeting and financial reporting practices. Experience in Illinois indicated to the IFTA that this state’s budgeting process used unsound accounting principles and evaded the intent of balanced budgets...

THE28THAMENDMENTPROPOSAL.ORG ANNOUNCES SEARCH FOR NATIONAL AND STATE MANAGERS; TWO OF TWELVE NATIONAL COMMITTEE BOARD POSITIONS FILLED EL PASO, TX, JULY 30, 2009: The National Committee Board for the grassroots initiative known as The28thAmendmentProposal.org announced a national search today for a National Administrative Coordinator, National Press and Public Relations Specialist, and State Program Managers and State Press and Public Relations Specialists in each of the sovereign united States. The National Committee Board is preparing for a major expansion in the organizational structure over the coming weeks, in advance of announcements of all of the National Committee Board positions. The28thAmendmentProposal.org is in...

Much of the discussion revolving around the decades-old flat tax proposal disregards reality, and often implies that at the same time such a proposal is put forth the amendment cannot also address some of the flaws or drawbacks in such a system. One argument comes from those who seem to have an unrealistic goal of completely abolishing a federal tax system altogether. Often these arguments are wrapped in some kind of discussion of natural rights, Constitutional restraints, and the like; they however seem to ignore two key points: - One, our founding fathers provided authority to the Congress to spend...

What can I do? I’ve written and called my representatives, and get a form letter, a stock answer or an argument. I’ve worked on campaigns. I’ve marched in Washington, and joined various groups. I’ve made my voice clear, and appear to be part of this overwhelming majority who have done the same in vain, constantly ignored, berated, pandered to, condescended, and held in contempt. When one set of bums is thrown out after the people have had enough, it seems another set of bums replace them; often it makes little difference which party they belong to other than the degree...

THE28THAMENDMENTPROPOSAL.ORG LAUNCHES NATIONAL GRASSROOTS CAMPAIGN EL PASO, TX, JULY 24, 2009: A new grassroots campaign launched a public website and their proposal for passage of an amendment to the US Constitution today in El Paso, TX. THE28THAMENDMENTPROPOSAL.ORG National Committee announced the activation of the website explaining the proposal, and a national search for a number of positions to be filled in support of the effort. Interim National Chairperson D. Brian Carter briefly outlined the aims of the amendment proposal intiative: • “The proposal is a mechanism for the American People and the States to reclaim much of the liberty and...

A friend asked me to consider Dwight Eisenhower as the last "fiscally responsible" President. Until the launch of Sputnik and the subsequent advent of the Space Race, he says that Eisenhower tried hard to blunt Soviet expansion and meet them head-on during his administration while also doing his utmost to keep the budget of the government balanced and its growth checked. Basically, once Sputnik was launched and the CIA caught flat-footed on estimates about the advanced level if the Soviet rocketry program and ICBM capabilities, subsequent administrations spared no expense in meeting any perceived threat. This sort of "spare no...

Senator John McCain plans to promise on Monday that he will balance the federal budget by the end of his first term by curbing wasteful spending and overhauling entitlement programs, including Social Security, his advisers told Politico. The vow to take on Social Security puts McCain in a political danger zone that thwarted President Bush after he named it the top domestic priority of his second term. McCain is making the pledge at the beginning of a week when both presidential candidates plan to devote their events to the economy, the top issue in poll after poll as voters struggle...

Sacramento -- Despite deep cuts in Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal to bridge the state's $14.5 billion deficit, nearly half of his budget-balancing plan involves borrowing money, deferring debt payments and counting future tax revenue, according to a report released Monday by the nonpartisan legislative analyst's office. The governor is proposing to issue $3.3 billion in bonds, delay a scheduled early payment on debt worth $1.5 billion and shift $2 billion of tax revenue that would otherwise be counted in the 2009-10 fiscal year to the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1, the report says. Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill questioned...

It will take at least $2.9 billion of reductions to truly balance the budget and provide a prudent reserve. If that sounds like a lot, it would still leave the state spending $8.5 billion more than the year before last, and nearly $22 billion more than at the outset of this administration. Most Senate Republicans are asking for much less than that: just the $700 million of spending reductions that would balance the budget, if only on paper. So far, the governor's pledge to use his line-item veto to make those reductions doesn't ring true. For example, about $160 million...

The chances of another maverick joining Maldonado appear to be fading. Sen. Jeff Denham, R-Atwater, has been specifically targeted because of his being somewhat less conservative than other senators, but he's reacted to the pressure -- including a Democratic Party threat of a recall campaign -- by becoming more adamant. If, as the Field Poll indicates, public pressure is unlikely to crack the GOP solidarity in the Senate, the question now is whether Democrats will feel enough pressure from their constituent groups that are dependent on state financing to give ground on the Jerry Brown demand. This week's rhetorical maneuvers...

Despite the ongoing costs of US military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, the outlook for the federal budget has grown substantially brighter. Tax revenues are rising much faster than spending, according to Treasury Department numbers released last week. The recent trend is strong enough that, were it to continue, the budget could move into surplus in barely a year, one economist calculates. Already, the federal deficit is shrinking toward about half the size that it has averaged since 1970, when analyzed as a percentage of gross domestic product. The shift reflects a strong economy, with higher incomes and corporate profits...

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration urged skeptical members of Congress on Tuesday to support the president's new $2.9 trillion spending plan, arguing that the budget can be balanced without raising taxes. "We are submitting a budget that includes a surplus in 2012, which is achievable if we keep our economy growing," Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told the House Ways and Means Committee. Paulson disputed contentions by Democrats that the budget achieves its projected $61 billion surplus in 2012 by adopting overly optimistic economic assumptions. "While no one has a crystal ball, our economic assumptions are close to the consensus of...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared an end Wednesday to California's long fiscal nightmare -- year after year of multibillion-dollar state budget deficits -- with a new spending plan he says will balance income and outgo. But is it real or just a new version of the financial trickery that has been employed by the state's politicians for the past half-decade? The answer: It's kinda, more-or-less, maybe balanced with some serious caveats. The new budget appears to be fairly straightforward and is very close to being balanced, but only if the Legislature goes along with several billion dollars of cuts and transfers...

The Republican Study Committee released its budget for FY 2007 "Contract with America: Renewed" this morning amidst a crowd of supporters and reporters. Rep. Mike Pence (R.-Ind.), RSC chairman, and Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R.-Texas), RSC Budget & Spending Task Force chairman were backed by 18 other members of the RSC as they publicly introduced the bill during a press conference. "The time has come to level with the American people -- we are not, as a nation, living within our means," Pence said. The budget proposed by Pence’s committee is based on the "Contract with America" budget passed in 1995...

RSC Balanced Budget Released Today (3/08/06) The RSC introduced a balanced budget based on the 1995 “Contract With America” at today's 11 am press conference. 2007 RSC Budget (word version) 2007 RSC Budget (pdf version) Click here for additional information.======================================================== Also on the RSC page reflecting their activities: Supplemental Appropriations Budget Requested (3/03/06) Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), on behalf of the RSC, sent this letter to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Josh Bolten, requesting a detailed accounting of how the supplemental appropriations already provided for the War on Terror and Gulf Coast hurricane relief have been spent.

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. There was bad news for the White House and the Republican Party in the Associated Press-Ipsos poll on public attitudes conducted Feb. 6-8. By a 61-35 percent margin, respondents said that the country was on the "wrong track," and by 57-40 percent disapproved of the way President George W. Bush is running the country. Those surveyed also disapproved by a margin of 61-35 of how the Republican-controlled Congress was handling its duties, with a plurality of 47 percent saying things would be better if the Democrats were in charge. With Congressional...

How big, how expensive and how fiscally generous to industries and local communities should America's national government be? The spending policies of the current administration have made this the central domestic public policy question, for government has substantially grown under the leadership of a political party that for many decades has claimed to be the party of smaller government. The real annual growth rate of federal government outlays is nearly at its highest modern percentage. Under President Clinton it was only 1.5%, under Ronald Reagan 2.6% and under Lyndon Johnson 5.7%. Spending has grown 5.6% a year since George W....

Yesterday the Senate reached a Compromise on confirmation hearings on certain judicial nominees. But “compromise” normally means an agreement between opposing parties where both make concessions and commit to keeping the bargain. By that standard, this is no compromise. It is, as Shakespeare wrote in Macbeth, “a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” Allow me to prove the point. The 14 signing Senators committed to vote to close debate on the nominations of Priscilla Owen, Janice Brown, and William Pryor for various Circuit Courts. They made no commitment on nominees William Myers and Henry...

Small-Government Democrats? Democratic strategist and CNN commentator James Carville reportedly has read the election tea leaves and concluded that the Democratic Party needs to be "born again." According to a report in the Washington Times, Carville may recommend that Democrats embrace a "reform-oriented, anti-Washington" agenda built around "the ability of members of Congress to reject pork projects for their districts and stake the party's fortunes on fiscal discipline." Indeed, Carville's timing may be fortuitous. A pre-election poll by the Winston Group found that, by a margin of 47% to 44%, Americans now view the Democratic Party as the party best...

Senator John Kerry's Congressional Record In spite of his close ties to Ted Kennedy and others, Kerry has not gained a reputation as a key legislative figure in the Senate. Only three pieces of legislation bear his name; two of these involve marine microbiology. According to Americans for Democratic Action, a far-left watchdog group, Kerry has a higher lifetime liberal voting record at 93% than Ted Kennedy with 88%. In 2001, 1999, 1998, 1993, 1992, 1989, 1988, 1987, 1986, and 1985, Kerry voted with Kennedy -- known for being to left of even his own party on every social issue...

Most prefer balanced budget to tax cuts WASHINGTON -- By almost 2-1, Americans prefer balancing the nation's budget to cutting taxes, according to an Associated Press poll, even though many believe their overall tax burden has risen despite tax cuts over the past three years. About six in 10, 61 percent, chose balancing the budget while 36 percent chose tax cuts when they were asked which was more important, according to a poll conducted for the AP by Ipsos Public Affairs. As Thursday's tax deadline approaches, people's lukewarm feeling about tax cuts may be influenced by a belief that recent...

CITIZENS   FOR  LIMITED  TAXATIONand theCitizens Economic Research Foundation U.S. Sen. John Kerry vs. The Federal Balanced Budget Amendment March 3, 2004 by Barbara Anderson U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Massachusetts) has attacked President George W. Bush on the budget deficit. While we don’t like the deficit either, we blame John Kerry for it because he was the one vote that killed the federal Balanced Budget Amendment (BBA).The BBA is a long-standing project of the National Taxpayers Union (NTU), of which CLT is a member. We have been working on this project with them since the late 1970s. The BBA...

<p>Here's what President Bush's budget proposal boils down to: record deficit projections that do not take into account obligations in Iraq and Afghanistan, coupled with program cuts that Congress probably will reject. If anything, the administration is lowballing the shortfall.</p>

Some budget tips from on high I repeat, this is not a partisan issue. It's a matter of making government exercise the same kind of financial responsibility that every American family does. — President Ronald Reagan in 1982, discussing a proposed balanced budget amendment Spouse, sons and daughters, distant relatives, assorted hangers on, mooching brothers in law: Our family is called to great responsibilities. And we are rising to meet them. As we gather tonight, bills for food, education, and home entertainment are piling up. Our credit cards are being rejected all over town in a one-household war on poverty....

Thank you very much. Incidentally, a couple of visitors came in with me over here -- Don Kendall and Lou Uhler, who are the cochairmen of the drive out there to help with this very thing that brings us together here today. But I'm here to thank 218 Members of the House of Representatives, Republicans and responsible Democrats, who joined together to sign the discharge petition for the balanced budget tax limitation amendment. This is an important step forward in a struggle our administration has waged for many months -- the battle to get runaway spending under control as part...

Kerry Votes Against Balanced BudgetAbstract of material:  Kerry had the chance to ensure that every Congress would be bound to fiscal responsibility, constitutionally required to pass balance budgets.  Kerry was against such a balanced budget proposal. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD -- Senate Friday, February 24, 1995 (Legislative day of Wednesday, February 22, 1995) 104th Congress 1st Session 141 Cong Rec S 3081 (Kerry says we don't need a balanced budget amendment)Mr. Kerry. Mr. President, the amendment before us purports to be that summoning of will. I think it is not. Let us be absolutely clear at the outset. We do not need...

<p>President Bush's inability to control the federal budget demonstrates yet again that democracy's inclination toward excessive spending is as powerful as a force of nature.</p> <p>The past two years' outrageous 8.2% annual increase in domestic discretionary spending is unfortunately only the latest example of excessive government spending. Since the beginning of the century, domestic federal spending has increased more than tenfold from less than 2% of Gross Domestic Product to close to 20% today. As the quantity of spending has increased, moreover, the quality has declined, with larger proportions going to transfers from one group of citizens to another rather than to public goods.</p>

AUSTIN - The "Blue Screen of Death" -- that's what some state employees called the blank computer screen that served as the first notice that they were no longer state employees. "They were sitting there working at their computers, and then -- boom -- the network people locked them out," said Marcus Chase, a producer of educational videos who was one of about 150 Texas Education Agency employees to get a pink slip in recent weeks. "It was disrespectful how it went down." An estimated 5,000 to 10,000 state workers have lost their jobs or will lose them soon as...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. WASHINGTON -- Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill urged the House on Sunday to follow the Senate's lead and raise the federal debt limit to ensure that the government won't run out of borrowing room this week. "We need the House of Representatives to come together in a bipartisan, nonpartisan way and do the thing that's necessary so we can not have this shadow over our ability to pay our fair and true debts," O'Neill said on ABC's "This Week." "They need to do it, without doubt, and I can't believe they're going...