The Patriot Post® · Mike Johnson Pitches a Better Road Forward

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) went to the New York Stock Exchange this week to outline for Wall Street the GOP’s plan of action after next month’s elections. Should Republicans gain control of Congress and the White House, Johnson has a five-step plan to help the American people. That plan encompasses tax cuts, incentives for companies to keep their operations at home and not outsource abroad, stymieing the flow of money to foreign rivals, tackling the national debt, and addressing the many problems in our public education system.

Tax Cuts

Johnson made it clear that Congress would be extending the tax cuts that President Donald Trump and Republicans enacted in 2017, most of which are set to expire in 2025. The child tax credit would also be stronger. Johnson even suggested using the tax code to disincentivize illegal immigration by making it difficult for migrants to live off the taxpayer dime. He described further how they could use the tax code to help make the U.S. a better place for innovative companies. All of these sound like a net win for the American people.

Divest From China, Invest in the U.S.

The U.S. is too dependent on cheap Chinese goods. Communist China turns around and uses that money to be aggressive toward the West.

Johnson listed some of the ways lawmakers have already started counteracting Chinese aggression:

The BIOSECURE Act, especially, was a bipartisan victory that protected Americans’ healthcare data and halted federal contracts to biotech companies operated by our adversaries. Bipartisan work will continue as we take on Chinese companies that use forced labor and that dodge tariffs through the de minimis exception. Congress also continues to have productive conversations about the best way to prevent American funds from flowing into firms that support the Chinese military. … We’re looking for a bipartisan solution to restrict outbound investment before the end of the year.

It’s in America’s interest to wean itself off of China, and that starts with businesses and corporations.

Johnson pledged that they “want to ensure the United States remains the preeminent location for investment in innovation and technology by restoring immediate expensing for research and development costs, ensuring a strong FDII incentive to encourage U.S. ownership of intellectual property, and restoring the 100% expensing provision.”

Deficit

Johnson spoke firmly on the state of our nation’s eye-popping $35 trillion debt, calling it an “unsustainable and frankly immoral position.” Which is absolutely correct. That is taxpayer money owed by people not even born yet, and it’s already been squandered by those who were supposed to steward it. Johnson continued, “It happened with the French Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and as of this year, it’s happening right here in America. And it’s no surprise that many secretaries of defense and national security advisers have called the growing federal debt the greatest national security threat that we face as a nation.”

It’s a ticking time bomb, and it’s long past time for lawmakers to give up the modern monetary theory approach to managing our nation’s money.

Inflation Reduction Act

Part of the overall debt curtailing would mean reducing spending boondoggles like the Inflation Reduction Act (i.e., the Green New Deal-lite). Rolling back the IRA and stopping that waste of money would benefit everyone (except, of course, the Democrats’ greedy green energy cronies).

But it’s not just the bad laws that need purging. As Johnson put it:

Our government is going to be a responsible government with a reduced scope and reduced spending, a government that’s responsible enough to know that it can’t and should not do everything. That’s because a government that promises to solve every problem will cause every problem, and that’s a road to serfdom, as history teaches.

He is perhaps hinting at an idea that entrepreneur Elon Musk and Trump have collaborated on: a Government Efficiency Commission.

Education Reform

Johnson also touched on the need for reform in our education system. Public schools are failing our children. Johnson suggested school choice as a viable option for families. He also attacked universities, which have not only become corrupt leftist-activist-making institutions but have consigned students to years upon years of crushing student loan debt. As Johnson aptly put it, universities are solely answerable for the “de-education and out-of-control cost” that students are facing. The return on investment is virtually nonexistent for Gen Zers, who are really struggling to get their feet under them financially. Many have opted for trade school instead — which is great!

In Conclusion

The Johnson agenda provides hope for the future of the country. Consider the sorry state it’s in right now — Appalachia is devastated by flooding with little to no federal help; an open border is flooding the country with rapists and murderers; and Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’s foreign policy weakness has lighted up the Middle East and elsewhere.

Our citizens could do with a little hope.