Heitkamp’s Phony Balanced Budget Schtick
Democrat Senate candidate Heidi Heitkamp is on a “Balance the Budget Tour” of North Dakota right now, doing her absolute best to sound like a Republican on fiscal issues. No joke.
“Her plan includes lower corporate income tax rates and allowing companies to move profits earned overseas into this country tax-free if used for business investment and job creation,” reports the Minot Daily News. “She also wants cuts in what she calls wasteful spending. For example, trimming the federal vehicle fleet by 20 percent would save $5.6 billion. Just cutting the number of limousines would save $115 million.”
Those aren’t necessarily bad ideas, but let’s remember that Heitkamp is just nibbling around the edges of our spending problems. Heitkamp says she’s for a balanced budget, but remember that she wants to exempt 62% of our budget (Social Security, Medicare and other mandatory spending such as interest on the national debt) from any balanced budget amendment.
How can you balance a budget when you’re only willing to address 38% of it?
That’s a question I’d like to hear Heitkamp answer, because the truth is she’s not really for balancing the budget at all.
Tags: deficits, election 2012, Heidi Heitkamp, national debt, North Dakota News
