Ken Buck to announce formation of Balanced Budget Amendment NP Org Tomorrow! ALLY? YES!

[libertybrewcity]

Just received an email from Ken Buck about his post election plans. This guy would have been a truly stellar addition in the senate with Rand...

Here is the email about his new organization that will work for a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution...


To that end, and in keeping with the themes we campaigned on, tomorrow I will be announcing the formation of a non-profit organization called Balance America with the purpose of educating, researching, and training leaders in all 50 states to ratify a Balanced Budget Amendment (BBA) to the U.S. Constitution.

Tomorrow morning I’ll be sending out a press release and the web site, www.Balance-America.org, will go live. I hope you will please take a look to offer your best advice and pointers about how I can continue to serve the grassroots and our cause in the best manner possible.

You can reach me directly at Ken@Balance-America.org to let me know your valued thoughts and suggestions.

Since the election in November, many DC politicians have jumped on the BBA bandwagon and that’s great. Better late than never.

But, as you know, the solutions to our nation’s problems don’t come from Washington. They come from grassroots Americans working to overcome the mess DC has created.

That’s why, rather than try to push from the top down in DC like everyone else, Balance America will target the grassroots at the state level first to empower them with education and research so they can push from the bottom up to affect real and lasting change.

With attention focused on a BBA at only the national level in Washington, the need for state-based education and research is even more important than ever.

Currently no private organization or government entity has accurate data on how many of the 50 state legislatures are prepared to ratify a Federal Balanced Budget Amendment.

Because our U.S. Constitution requires ¾ of the states to pass a BBA, we must begin right away to clear such a huge hurdle.

By establishing state affiliates in all 50 states, starting here at home with our first state affiliate Balance Colorado, Balance America will help jump start the US Constitution’s ratification process through education and research that will empower Americans at the grassroots, rather than the top down politicians who will say anything from Washington.

My hope is that I can count on your blessing as I step out again to attempt to help fix the many problems our nation is facing, starting with our most dire problem of spending ourselves toward national bankruptcy.

Without a BBA to rein in out of control spending, an insolvent government won’t be able to handle the many other issues that Americans need help with.

I believe that our national survival depends on immediate spending restraint and the BBA is a much-needed and common-sense place to start.

I hope you agree, dear friend.

Because you played such an important role last year and have been so faithful to me and Perry, I feel I owe it to you to seek your advice first and to give you advanced notice before I go public tomorrow.

So please check out the web site www.Balance-America.org tomorrow and let me know what you think at Ken@Balance-America.org.


Gratefully,

Ken Buck

Balance America

[Vessol]

The only way to "balance the budget" is to get rid of fiat currency.

[Zippyjuan]

Does Mr Buck have a balanced budget to propose? I would be willing to bet he is unwilling to suggest one which actually balances. See- that is the cool thing. He can say he is for a balanced budget without actually having to balance one. He knows he won't have to come up with one this year- or for many years. Nice political position. It would take years to get an amendment passed and ratified (if it ever does get passed and ratified at all) and probably even then have a several year space to come into effect- passing the hard choices on to the next generation just as the debt has been for decades.

He suggested a few programs to cut but nothing which would get you anywhere near to a balanced budget. From the Campaign Trail last summer:
http://coloradoindependent.com/57584/buck-budget-proposals-would-do-little-to-limit-%E2%80%98out-of-control-spending%E2%80%99

DH: What should be cut in the federal budget?

Buck: The National Endowment for the Arts. The National Endowment for Humanities. Subsidies for many programs — we’ve got to look at privatizing some programs. We’ve got to look at departments like the Department of Education and ask really what they should be doing and what we need to return to local control. The Department of Energy’s mission was to make America less reliant on foreign energy. That mission was set in 1977. We’re more reliant on foreign energy than we were before. So we’ve got to evaluate whether agencies and departments are really doing the job that we’ve set out for them.



OK. $328 million down- $1.2 trillion to go.

Said maybe the Department of Education, but backed off that.

DH: Your GOP opponent has set, ‘Let’s abolish the Department of Education.’ It sounds like you’re not going that far.

Buck: I’m not willing to turn the lights off on Day One. We got into this mess over 60 years, and we’re not going to get out of this mess in the first 10 days of the next Congress. I think it is important to evaluate in a responsible way how we return more educational control to local governments. At some point, if we don’t need to spend federal money on education, that would be great, but we’ve got to transition in a responsible way.



Big ticket items? Defense? Social programs? Hmm. Does't seem to want to get too tough on those. Big ticket items have the biggest potential for savings- but also carry the most political risk if you actually do try to cut them. No real cuts considered here.

DH: All the programs you’ve just named fall under the discretionary budget. … Even if you knocked that all out, you’d still have a multi-trillion-dollar federal budget, and the parts that are growing most are outside the discretionary budget. How would you handle that (in terms of) military and welfare programs?

Buck: As Iraq winds down, I think the military budget will become a less significant part of the overall budget. We’ve obviously got a commitment in Afghanistan. We’ve got to figure out what the goals are there and what we can do there. So there may be less need in two or three years than there is now. I think it’s still important that we promote research and development in the military budget, but some of the costs of deploying troops may be significantly reduced in the next few years. But the entitlement area of the budget is just an area where I think you’ve got to call the actuaries in and you’ve got to figure out how exactly we are a country are able to deal with that burden. I think a lot of things will be on the table to discuss, but it’s impossible sitting here in Denver to make those choices, until I hear the testimony of the experts in terms of what the different plans are.



So where is his balanced budget he says he wants? Just another political opportunist. Rand Paul is the only person so far willing to take a serious stab at it- and at $500 billion you still need to cut twice as much more than even he proposes to get things to balance. Unless you raise lots of taxes.

[libertybrewcity]

Does Mr Buck have a balanced budget to propose? I would be willing to bet he is unwilling to suggest one which actually balances. See- that is the cool thing. He can say he is for a balanced budget without actually having to balance one. He knows he won't have to come up with one this year- or for many years. Nice political position. It would take years to get an amendment passed and ratified (if it ever does get passed and ratified at all) and probably even then have a several year space to come into effect- passing the hard choices on to the next generation just as the debt has been for decades.

At least he's taking the initiative to get this going. Imagine if he gets 3/4 of the states to ratify a balanced budget proposal! All congress would have to do is pass it! I applaud him for taking the first step. Who else is even talking about this?

[erowe1]

It depends on the specifics. A bad balanced budget amendment could actually make things worse, not better, I think, especially if it includes the military loophole they usually do. But one like the one Mike Lee recently sponsored, might be a good thing.

[CableNewsJunkie]

The only way to "balance the budget" is to get rid of fiat currency.

^^^This

But it's a very hard concept to articulate.

We should figure out a way to explain why this is true in 2-3 paragraphs.

[Zippyjuan]

Until I see somebody suggesting specifics as to HOW to balance a budget, it is all just political posturing. They talk about it but don't do anything about it. I certainly agree that it is nearly impossible to do. That is why they avoid specifics.

[Slutter McGee]

What? Sombody is starting an organization with a worthy and noble cause.

I know what to do. Lets spread the name of Ron Paul by attacking their cause as fruitless, ridiculous, or hypocritical.

This will work, my fellow Paulites.

Tomorrow I think we should go after GOA, I mean afterall, its not like they accomplish anything.

Slutter McGee

[speciallyblend]

What? Sombody is starting an organization with a worthy and noble cause.

I know what to do. Lets spread the name of Ron Paul by attacking their cause as fruitless, ridiculous, or hypocritical.

This will work, my fellow Paulites.

Tomorrow I think we should go after GOA, I mean afterall, its not like they accomplish anything.

Slutter McGee

what ever you just said doesn't change the fact thT I and many colorado folks STILL DO NOT TRUST KEN BUCK even though i voted for him!! Buck should never be trusted like Ron Paul!!! buck lost the election due to a lack of trust from the colorado voters!!

[Chieppa1]

What? Sombody is starting an organization with a worthy and noble cause.

I know what to do. Lets spread the name of Ron Paul by attacking their cause as fruitless, ridiculous, or hypocritical.

This will work, my fellow Paulites.

Tomorrow I think we should go after GOA, I mean afterall, its not like they accomplish anything.

Slutter McGee

Agreed.