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President Bush’s first term is over; we can now look at what he accomplished. A President should be judged on what he promised the voters during his campaign. Voters should compare what he promised, to what he delivered.
Look at some of what President Bush wanted to accomplish in his first term: A better public education system, fiscal responsibility, and less Federal involvement in the affairs of the fifty States. Let’s look at each of these goals President Bush set for himself.
President Bush increased Federal spending on education by 83%. He signed a bill called “No Child left Behind.” This bill established a set of Federal mandates to the fifty states; many of which are not funded. Not one single educator I have discussed this bill with thinks it will help Indiana; in fact, all of them feel that it will hurt our school systems. With all of this extra spending and this extra layer of beauracracy what has happened to the test scores of our school children? Unfortunately, they have dropped even further. I would give President Bush an “F” on education reform. He sure spent a lot of money; but, spending more money and adding another layer of administrators is not the way to fix the system.
After being elected in 2000, President Bush promised more fiscal responsibility. He inherited a 5.6 trillion dollar deficit. The Federal deficit is now over 7.6 trillion dollars. Our Republican Congress, Republican Senate, and Republican President have increased the Federal deficit by one third in four short years. The Republican Party can no longer call themselves fiscal conservatives. Our Federal deficit is so high that our currency has sunk to new lows against foreign currency. The main reason for the plunge of the dollar is foreign investors are concerned about the massive debt that our government is incurring. There is no doubt that President Bush receives an “F” for fiscal responsibility. Our children and grand children will regret the spending excesses of our generation.
President Bush got his start in politics as the Governor of Texas. He often said that the Federal government should stay out of the business of the fifty states. He often said that local and state governments can spend the tax payer’s money better then the distant Federal government. On this point, President Bush and I agree. So what has President Bush done to remove power from the Federal government and pass it back to the fifty states as our Constitution intended?
During the last four years the Federal government has taken even more power from the fifty states. President Bush has done the exact opposite of what he promised. “No Child left Behind” is a perfect example of going in the wrong direction. “No Child left Behind” mandates rules to the fifty states instead of giving them more power to handle things locally.
The Federal government is extorting the fifty states for all kinds of reasons. In the last three years the Federal government has withheld over thirty million dollars of Indiana’s highway funds because they feel that we do not comply with the Federal “open container laws.” How did “open container laws” become a Federal issue in the first place, it is absurd. President Bush must yet again receive a grade of “F” on restoring power to the fifty states and that is a shame. I feel that one of his best ideas was restoring power to the fifty states.
The Libertarian Party of Allen County stands for fiscal responsibility, the rights of the fifty states, personal responsibility and accountability, and less government regulation in our lives. If you would like to learn more please contact me at 260-338-0833 or see us online at AllenCountyLP.org.
