"The federal government cannot maintain a budget surplus any more than an alcoholic can leave a fresh bottle of whiskey untouched in the cupboard." -Rep. Ron Paul

Government Spending

The Libertarian Party of Oklahoma supports SQ 726, the Stop Over Spending initiative. This version of a Taxpayer Bill of Rights would place a reasonable limit on the growth of government spending and create a Budget Stabilization Fund.

Transparency Acts allow us to "Google" Government Speninding
Federal Spending Transparency Site:  www.usaspending.gov
Oklahoma Spending Transparency Site: Ok Open Book

Freedom Works
Get Liberty
www.oklp.org/statebudget.html

For information on Federal Government Spending, visit Senator Coburn's Financial Management site: http://www.coburn.senate.gov/ffm/

Stop Over Spending Archives

Oklahomans for Good Government wants to put Oklahomans back in the driver seat, instead of spendthrift politicians. Visit www.GetGoodGovernment.com and show your support by signing the Mission Statement.


Scott Nason is disappointed that Oklahoma legislators increased the size of government by more than 10 percent for the second year in a row.

Howard M. Crain thinks Democrats want to tax and spend and Republicans borrow and spend (Letter to the editor in the Oklahoman).

The Oklahoman thinks the OK Senate's refusal to consider tax cuts after a BILLION in overtaxation is a reason for a taxpayer bill of rights. And Howard Wilson thinks that politicians who can't get the job done in time should move out of the way.

County Comm. Jim Roth says the counties are playing Robin Hood with your money.

District 3 OK County Comm., Stan Inman, says your tax dollars should work for you, not against you. More about county funds at www.oklp.org/countyfunds.html

Charles Murray proposes giving every American $10,000 and ending piecemeal entitlements. Buy "In Our Hands" at Amazon or Laissez-Faire Books. Murray is also author of "What it Means to be a Libertarian".

OKLP Treasurer Larry Brittain says more people will walk the high-wire with a net under them. (Letter to the Editor in the Oklahoman)

Michael Dixon, National Chair for the Libertarian Party, says Senator Biden should take his own advice and limit the size of the federal government.

Dick Armey promotes Oklahoma spending limits.

Oklahomans support a Stop Over Spending Initiative at a 70% rate, but Oklahoma legislators are hesitant to limit their spending.

Do your Oklahoma Legislators support the Stop Over Spending Initiative? Send them an email or letter asking them to support a reasonable limit to government growth.

Senator Randy Brogdon (R-Owasso) explains Oklahoma's Stop Over Spending (SOS) Initiative.

Chad Kirkpatrick, chairman of the Arizona Federation of Taxpayers explains why Arizona needs a Taxpayer Bill of Rights.

...and Michigan citizens may get a chance to vote on a taxpayer bill of rights this year.

Brandon Dutcher and Mark Nichols of OCPA wonder why Oklahoma state government needs to grow 18.4% this year.

Larry Brittain, OKLP Treasurer, says this is the right time to limit state spending with SQ 726.

Clark Duffe thinks the anti-TABOR coalition, Alliance for Oklahoma's Future, wants more government, although they may not say it quite so clearly.

James Sliger thinks a limit on spending would make politicians lose sleep.

Study finds TABOR would limit the growth of government.

Henry proposes an 18.4% increase in state spending (compounded on last year's 12.7% increase).

The OEA wants you to call security if you see a TABOR petitioner.

TABOR opponents work to silence the opposition. Paul Jacob discusses small-time totalitarian tactics in Oklahoma.

Oklahomans in Action is trying to stop overspending and protect our homes with two initiatives on the ballot for 2006.

Edmond Sun wants to prepare for the future by growing the Rainy Day Fund. (The Stop Overspending Initiative could grow it by 50%.)

Government Spending Archives

Tom Kegin and Patrick Powell applaud Senator Coburn's fight against pork.

A balanced budget means "reasserting a standard of conduct that will apply in most years: government services worth having ought to be worth paying for with taxes. Gain and pain should be calibrated; it is the only way to impose a crude discipline on government, to compel it to make choices."
- Paul Samuelson, The Good Life and Its Discontents

Oklahoma taxpayers are saddled with a $60 million bill after the the Sardis Lake debacle.

Jerry Bowerman thinks Oklahoma legislators should prioritize making a budget, or else pay back the taxpayers for each day of the special session.

What will they spend this year? Oklahoma House and Senate have different ideas for this year's budget- either growing government with one-time projects or annual responsibilities.

Bob Sullivan of First Class Education for Oklahoma thinks 65 cents of every dollar spent on education should stay in the classroom.

Robin Meyers wonders why all but one Oklahoma Senators voted to use public funds to defend government employees.

Charlie wants to link legislator pay to the average salary of Oklahomans working in the private sector (not to teachers' pay, which he calculates at over $30/hour).

Tom Elmore, of the North American Transportation Institute, thinks tag and registration fees could be used for road and highway repair.

Thomas Sowell thinks there is no such thing as a free lunch.

GW Bush a Conservative Impostor? Bruce Bartlett thinks thinks he bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy.

Gretchen Collins looks at the results of mandated public art...and maybe finds it's in they eye of the beholder.

Richard Prawdzienski thinks both Democrats and Republicans are trying to grow government.

Brandon Dutcher examines the proposed increased bonuses for Oklahoma schoolteachers who have earned national board certification.

Keith Gaddie doesn't think the Legislature should use the Rainy Day Fund like a Visa card.

Wireless 911 plan riddled with faults says Clark Duffe in the Edmond Sun.

Keith Gaddie doesn't think the Legislature should use the Rainy Day Fund like a Visa card.

Coburn's pork fight applauded

The Oklahoman, Letter to the Editor 8/4/06

Roger Jackson (Your Views, July 29) claims to be a Republican and warns candidates for the 5th District congressional seat that they'd better bring home the bacon. He cites Robert S. Kerr as an example of someone bringing home the bacon and mentions Tom Coburn as someone who doesn't. Kerr was a Democrat, albeit not the type of far left Democrat typical these days. When he was in office, we didn't have multitrillion-dollar deficits. Coburn is not just trying to eliminate Oklahoma "pork." He's fighting against pork from every state!

We don't need "bacon" being brought home; we need necessary programs funded and unnecessary programs eliminated nationwide. Does Jackson want his grandkids paying his bills? Coburn is sacrificing a much higher income as a physician in order to be a U.S. senator. If the Senate had more Tom Coburns working to expose and clean up governmental waste for our grandkids, many of our country's problems would be solved.

Keep on exposing pork and waste for what it is, Sen. Coburn! Plenty of us sincerely appreciate your efforts and the beating you're taking in Washington (and apparently at home) for trying to do the right thing.

Patrick Powell, Mustang


Roger Jackson (Your Views, July 29) calls for Oklahoma politicians to bring more pork back to Oklahoma. That's the reason we have $400 billion deficits and trillion-dollar debts. Our politicians have built too many bridges to nowhere, bought too many $500 hammers and toilet seats and spent too many millions studying the life of the snail darter. I applaud the few politicians like U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn who will vote their conscience and spend our tax dollars for what they feel is necessary and good for the country, and not include needless items that will line the pockets of a few of their staunch friends. Too many "good ole boys" have heaped a debt upon our grandchildren that they can never repay. We will never balance the budget until we quit putting pressure upon our politicians to do something special for us.

Tom Kegin, Choctaw

Disappointing session

The Oklahoman, Letter to the Editor 6/22/06

As a lifelong Republican, I'm disappointed in Speaker Todd Hiett and Oklahoma House Republicans who caved to the Democrats and increased the size of government by more than 10 percent for the second year in a row. Perhaps a Republican state Senate will do better.

Scott Nason, Oklahoma City

Saddled by Sardis

The Oklahoman, Letter to the Editor 6/21/06

"State told to repay millions" (news story, June 13) describes another example of the long list of snafus perpetrated by our politicians. A ruling by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals confirmed that Oklahoma must pay the federal government some $60 million for Sardis Lake and its water supply. This is to comply with the terms of a valid contract between Oklahoma and the federal government requiring 50 consecutive annual payments to cover construction costs. After paying $4.4 million, Oklahoma stopped payments in 1997 because "the state has not found municipalities or industries to whom to sell the water."

Good business practice, and even plain common sense, indicates that a detailed study of projected income from the operation of Sardis Lake should have been conducted before entering into a 50-year contract. So the taxpayer is again saddled with a hefty bill for what, at the present time, is just a fancy fishing hole.

Raoul Carubelli, Oklahoma City

Getting Richer

The Oklahoman, Letter to the Editor 6/20/06

I'm an unemployed senior citizen who's struggling to survive. The cost of high energy is going to affect me. How's it going to affect members of Congress who just voted for a salary increase for themselves? They'll now earn $168,500 a year. I'm living on about $1,100 a month. Is that fair?

Valerie Allen, Oklahoma City

The U.S. House voted June 13 not to decline a scheduled 2 percent cost-of-living increase.

Getting it Backward

The Oklahoman, Letter to the Editor 6/18/06

The main reason our legislators are going into special session is that their priorities are built around pet projects and pork. They hold their main responsibility of building a budget until the end of each session. The current process is backward. Lawmakers should pass a law requiring them to complete the budget process prior to the end of the regular session. If they can't, they'd be penalized by giving their daily rate of pay back to the state (the people) for each day of a special session required. Would any legislators accept this challenge?

Jerry Bowerman,
Oklahoma City

Senate holding state hostage

The Oklahoman Editorial, 5/24/06
http://newsok.com/article/1852214/

OPINION polls show that Brad Henry is a popular Democratic governor heading into a campaign season. Polls show the budget compromise reached by Henry and the Republican House of Representatives enjoys the support of most Oklahomans. Yet the third leg of the state government stool appears interested only in the opinions of special-interest groups.

The Senate has been overcome by obstructionism. A handful of lame-duck, term-limited members runs the body along with a few liberals. Senate President Pro Tempore Mike Morgan doesn't wield the gavel. Otherwise, he'd embrace the compromise.

Obstructionism is the surest path to a Republican takeover of the Senate. Morgan's Democrats refuse to consider income tax cuts in a year when the budget surplus is an "illion" with a "B" instead of an "M." This is the best argument yet in support of a taxpayer bill of rights. With enemies like Morgan, TABOR supporters will need fewer friends.

While polls show widespread support for the governor-House budget compromise, Morgan says the Senate plan is the choice of most Oklahomans. Based on what? A poll of officers for a teachers union that named Morgan in a $4 billion shakedown lawsuit?

Henry and the House want to wrap things up this week. Morgan wants a special session. The people want the Legislature to go home on schedule.

To muck up the works further, Morgan trotted out a tax reform proposal at the 11th hour. It involves increasing the standard deduction for personal income tax. Not a bad idea, but why wait until the last days of the regular session to push it? Only one answer to that question is possible: The old guard has become fatalistic. Sensing they're about to lose control of the Senate, this is their last chance to influence government from a position of strength. But in doing so they will help bring about a GOP takeover.

Move over

Letter to the Editor
The Oklahoman 5/28/06

Our legislators are elected and paid to do their job and do it within the time mandated by law. If they're unable to do so and have to meet in a special session, they should work for free or move over and let somebody else do the job.

Howard G. Wilson,
Oklahoma City

Dick Armey Promotes Oklahoma Spending Limits

By Jennifer Mock
The Oklahoman 5/10/06
http://newsok.com/article/1839544/

Former U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Armey called on Oklahomans on Tuesday to show their support for a ballot initiative that would limit government spending.

The proposed constitutional amendment, often called the Taxpayers Bill of Rights, would stop government from growing at a faster pace than private business, backers say. A limit is needed to bring back fiscal prudence, even in times of surplus, Armey said.

"This is only common sense," he said. "We need to limit growth of government in a rational manner. Spending public money needs discipline."

Armey, surrounded by several Oklahoma GOP lawmakers, said government would run more efficiently if spending were capped. He called opponents of the measure "romantic idealists who can't come to terms with reality."

The proposal, State Question 726, would base annual government spending limits on inflation increases and population growth. The circulated petition was signed by almost 300,000 Oklahomans, but is being challenged in court. David Blatt, a spokesman for Alliance for Oklahoma's Future, which opposes the plan, said limiting spending would eliminate lawmaker discretion in distributing state funds and lead to cuts in vital state programs.

"In Oklahoma, SQ 726 is an empty promise that threatens vital programs and would ensure that Oklahoma never has the ability to catch up in areas where we lag behind," he said.

Former U.S. House leader promotes state TABOR measure

The Oklahoman 5/9/06 http://newsok.com/article/1839045/
By Tim Talley

OKLAHOMA CITY - Former U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Armey threw his support Tuesday behind a so-called taxpayer bill of rights initiative petition that has been challenged by some of Oklahoma's most prominent business leaders. Joined by conservative state lawmakers who also support TABOR, Armey, R-Texas, said the measure will limit government growth and impose spending constraints that would force lawmakers to make better choices.

"The government that governs least governs best," said Armey, chairman of FreedomWorks, a coalition of organizations that supports lower taxes and less government.

"Money spent foolishly winds up giving you waste. You've got to make every penny count," he said.

Last November, Colorado voters suspended that state's TABOR plan for five years, giving up $3.7 billion in tax cuts to shore up education and health care, which suffered revenue reductions after the 2001 recession. Armey blamed special interest groups, including the state's teacher organization, for upsetting the plan.

"This is not an easy thing to do. You're asking government in a state to change the way they do business," Armey said.

Oklahoma lawmakers said the TABOR initiative pending in the state Supreme Court has been modified to address the Colorado concerns.

In February, business executives opposed to the measure filed a lawsuit challenging it. TABOR sponsors said they hope the lawsuit can be resolved in time for the issue to appear on the November general election ballot. Under TABOR, state government spending is limited to increases in population and inflation. Critics say the plan would severely reduce education funding and slash vital state services.

"It would make a situation that is already struggling and put it in crisis," said Gary Jones, executive director of the Oklahoma Public Employees Association. The group is demanding an 8 percent across-the-board pay raise for the state's 35,000 workers.

"It's clear that Dick Armey doesn't know anything about the government of Oklahoma. We're barely surviving in Oklahoma," Jones said. "Public employees are already struggling with some of the lowest salaries in the country." Jones said state lawmakers have been "very prudent" in the way they fund government and spend tax dollars. State Question 640, passed in 1992, requires a three-quarters vote of the Legislature or a vote of the people to impose new taxes.

Rep. Ken Miller, R-Edmond, proposed a separate TABOR measure earlier this year that called for a vote of the people on a proposed constitutional amendment to limit increases in state and local government spending. It died in the state House.

The initiative petition, State Question 726, relies upon the consumer price index as a formula for inflation. But Miller, associate professor of economics at Oklahoma Christian University, said government does not provide the same services as those measured in the CPI.

"The market basket on what state government provides is different than what the average consumer purchases," he said. Inflation on government services is higher than the CPI, specifically in the health care and education fields. Miller said he supports constitutional constraints on spending but is undecided on the TABOR petition.

A TABOR-like measure by Rep. Fred Morgan, R-Oklahoma City, would lower the state's existing cap on increases in state spending. The state Constitution limits increases in state spending to 12 percent a year. Morgan's bill would reduce that to 6 percent plus inflation. The measure is pending in the Senate.