I met a couple from California yesterday. The husband said, “Our state is broke and I just want to know where our tax dollars are going.” It seemed to be difficult for him say that his state is broke. He said that their taxes have been raised and teachers have been losing their jobs. He wants know why his state government is making the choices they are making with his money. I met another man from California who told me that Californians are not as the rest of the country pictures. He said that their state government does not reflect the values of the citizens.

In the rest of the country, we feel the same way. We see taxes go up, and sometimes taxes go up and we do not realize it because the way politicians raise the taxes. We see that our country is in debt. We see that other countries are losing faith in the dollar. We wonder where are our tax dollars are going. We have seen the bailouts, and we wonder, “Why is our government making these choices with our money?” We look at our politicians and know that their decisions do not reflect our values of freedom and responsibility.

Our country was founded to be a country in which the values of the people were reflected by the government. It is a country in which the people hold the politicians accountable. On July 4, we will stand up and say, “Enough already.” We want our politicians to know where we stand and that we going to hold them accountable. If they do not listen to the people, they will find out what it is like to be unemployed.

It is wonderful to be in the greatest nation in the world. I am thankful to have been born in the United States of America. However, with the government takeover of the banking and car industries, with czars that are accountable to no one except the president, with a tax system that stifles opportunity, and with a mountain of debt that we will be passing on to our children’s children, the future of the country looks bleak. In this situation, we could find ourselves asking, “Why me?” We could find ourselves saying, “All hope is lost.” We can choose to say, “There is something I can do!” We can choose to say, “I was born for such a time as this, so I will stand up and take my nation back!”

This is still the land of the free and the home of the brave.   We still have the freedom to speak out and let our beliefs be heard. We still have the freedom to choose our leaders. We still have the freedom to say, “We’ve had enough!”  The well being our children hangs in the balance. If we want our children to enjoy the freedom we have enjoyed, we must speak out. If we want our children to enjoy the freedom for which so many people have fought and died, we must speak out. Are we brave enough to take a stand for the future this nation? I think we are.

Happy Mother’s Day! I admire everyone woman who has taken up the yoke of motherhood.  A friend of recently posted on Facebook, “According to Fox News, stay-at-home-moms would make nearly $123,000 a year if they were paid for all their hard work. Now to figure out how to start getting those paychecks.” That is great, but I chose to sacrifice my paycheck to stay home with my children. Some women work hard in the workplace, then come home and work hard at there. We do not run a debt that we cannot pay off because I stay home with my children. We do not live off the fruits of someone else’s labor. I work hard in the home so my husband can work hard in the workplace, and we make sacrifices. We make hard decisions on what to spend money on and what to sacrifice. I ask our politicians to do the same. There is a guide that should help. It is called the Constitution of the United States of America. Read Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution to find out the powers of congress and for what taxes may be collected.

"Section 8 - Powers of Congress

The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;

To borrow money on the credit of the United States;

To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;

To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;

To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;

To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;

To establish Post Offices and Post Roads;

To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;

To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;

To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations;

To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

To provide and maintain a Navy;

To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;

To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings; And

To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof."

As a concerned mother, I ask everyone to keep a watchful eye on our nation. Our children are depending on us. When making the tough decisions of where to spend our money, we need to hold the congress accountable. On what is the money going to be spent, and where in the constitution does it say our money can be taken to pay for these expenditures? Do we have the money to spend or is it going to increase the national debt? To all the mothers, thank you for your hard work. Thank you for raising responsible citizens. Thank you for keeping an eye on the family budget. Thank you, Americans, for watching the nation’s budget.

Last week we were all watching the “swine flu.” Of course, we watched. We do not want a deadly disease to afflict us or our children, but there is a deadly disease that is afflicting our country, debt. We must remain vigilant concerning this disease that could affect countless people over multiple generations. This week congress passed a budget of $3.4 trillion with $1.2 trillion in deficit spending.  Deficit spending is added to our national debt. We need to not just cut our deficit spending we need to completely eliminate it. How can we continue to spend more money than we make and ever have the hope of getting out of debt? If we never get out of debt, our children will pay for our reckless spending.  Let’s start by not adding expenses like bailing out failing companies. Chrysler was considered “too big to fail.” Last week, while we were all watching the swine flu it was announced that Chrysler went into bankruptcy. We bailed Chrysler out and the company still failed. I have learned from experienced parents that if you continually bail your children out they will continue to fail. This has got to stop we must let some companies fail so we can all learn how to succeed. Let’s keep a watchful eye on our government and make sure we do not miss what is happing in Washington by being blinded by fear.

Find out how your Representative voted on the budget.

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll216.xml

Find out how your Senators voted on the budget.

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=1&vote=00173#position