By Mark W. Fowler

“You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.” —Adrian Rogers

The silly season of presidential elections continues. As is common, and just as commonly despicable, is the attempt by politicians to bribe the electorate with their own money. The latest iteration of this includes: No taxes on tips; expanded childcare credits; tax credits for first-time homebuyers; free medical care and housing subsidies for immigrants; and, as Nancy Pelosi recently suggested, amnesty for immigrants. All this on top of subsides for electric vehicles, solar panel installation, and student loan debt relief.

There is never a serious attempt to reign in federal spending, the surfeit of which over decades has so cheapened the currency that a watch costing $55 in 1973 now costs $400. We now have a deficit of $35 trillion and an annual deficit of over $1 trillion. This excess spending is a hidden tax affecting everyone, but the poor the most. As the execrable Democrat nominee has observed, “Prices have gone up.” By a lot — some essentials such as bread have increased by 50%.

The recent surge in prices is directly attributable to a series of fumbles by Democrat politicians. The illogical closing of businesses and the massive surge of COVID “relief” spending introduced both market distortions and cheap paper, producing pain that has lasted longer than the crisis.

The ideal solution for our economic woes is simple: Cut spending by 1% per year until revenue more closely aligns with expenditures. This need not include entitlements. However, a means test would be acceptable for recipients of Social Security who have ample income or wealth — not because the rich get a disproportionate share, but because we are in a crisis and everyone must pitch in.

Politicians are experts in protecting their own interests (jobs, medical care, and pensions). They are fabulous at announcing new spending programs on top of the byzantine system of spending programs we have but are grossly unable to follow through and assess the efficacy of that spending. In Minnesota, the dust is finally settling on a government scheme to provide meals for children affected by COVID, a worthwhile endeavor. Except that an unscrupulous set of operators created a fictional scheme to steal the money — to the tune of $250 million. The reporting on this issue does not include the single name of a politician or government administrator who was fired as a result of this catastrophic mishandling of money.

The student loan “fix” concocted by Barack Obama was intended to increase access to loan money. As a result, we have over $1 trillion in student loan debt and a substantial number of students who borrowed money for degrees that would not support their loans. But even worse is a sense of resentment and entitlement that these loans should be forgiven. In short, Obama made it worse, exacerbating the moral hazard of cheap money.

The government does best when it encourages moral fiber, self-reliance, and gets out of the way of productive citizens. Here is a message we need to hear: “I will cut taxes, for everyone. I will cut spending across the board. I will protect your community from violence and predation so that you can focus on solving your own problems without the interference of the government and at the end of the day, even though covered in dust and sweat and blood, you will know the satisfaction of fighting and winning the good fight.”

Teddy Roosevelt would approve.

Mark Fowler is a board-certified physician and former attorney. He can be reached at [email protected].