As debt and inflation continue to climb, Republicans call for spending cuts. Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) led a press conference with House Freedom Caucus Chair Scott Perry (R-PA) to discuss how to rein in out-of-control spending and a bloated Federal budget in Washington.
Sen. Scott opens with the comparison that private businesses must balance their budgets to retain bank loans, yet "up here, that doesn't seem to be the case."
"Up here, that doesn't seem to be the case. There's a belief up here that there is no limit to what we can spend money on. It doesn't make any sense," said Sen. Scott.
Moreover, these same spending policies are hurting those such spending is supposed to help, as "when you look at who's getting impacted the most, just look over the last twenty years as we've just dramatically increased the spending in this country."
"When you look at who's getting attacked the most, just look over the last twenty years as we've just dramatically increased the spending in this country. The rich are getting richer, Wall Street does really well, and who gets hurt? The poor. Gas prices are up, food prices are up, and housing prices are up. Look at someone getting out of school today, and trying to buy a house. Just look at the cost of housing. But everything is caused by reckless government spending," Scott adds.
The COVID-19 pandemic alone saw a 55% increase in Federal spending, while the population only grew by 1.8%. "There's no chance we're going to live within our budget, live within our means," Scott surmises.
However, he then cited his own experience as Governor of Florida, where he was able to balance the budget and reduce state debt by one-third, as evidence states can live within their means.
"When I became Governor of Florida, Florida had not lived within its means for twenty straight years... the State of Florida borrowed an additional billion dollars a year for twenty straight years. We were going into default on some of our debt. So what we did the first year, we said 'this is how much money we're going to collect, this is how much we're going to spend.' And guess what? We did it for eight years, we balanced the budget. Shocking, a state balanced their budget. And we actually paid off within eight years a third of the state debt. We can do the same thing up here," Scott continued.
While he expresses gratitude for the Freedom Caucus in bringing up ideas, Scott slams the Biden Administration for evidently refusing to listen, saying "they don't even want to have a conversation."
Nonetheless, Scott said he remains optimistic the Freedom Caucus can create a means of balancing the budget and reducing spending.
