Budget & Tax

Beware of Super-Size Spending

October 5, 2009

Brett A. Magbee

I can't go to any fast food restaurant these days without being asked if I would like to "super-size" my order. After seeing my waistline gradually expand, I've started to answer, "No thanks!"

Our whole culture seems to be suffering from a super-size-it mentality. Human nature being what it is, we mistakenly believe it's OK because, after all, "we're worth it!" For just a few additional cents you can have much more than you could ever imagine.

We seem to have that concept down pat in government these days. Our elected officials are never satisfied that they are getting enough money for their big-government programs. So instead of spending a measly million, it's a billion-no, make that a trillion! Why not? After all, they reason, the burden's not all on taxpayers; it's on their grandchildren, too!

A few years ago we at OCPA redoubled our efforts to call attention to all the profligate spending in government. Our publications and studies have continued to expose this growing problem. We once even printed bumper stickers that read: "Put Government on a Diet!"

Still, many citizens have continued to sit by and watch their elected officials justify spending in their super-size ways. Concerns are mounting. They are reaching critical mass in 2009 as citizens realize that they have become co-dependents in such gluttony and they aren't going be a party to it anymore!

That's why OCPA is so important. We are constantly challenging the popular notion that spending more money is healthy for either our state or our nation or that it is the right way to grow the economy. As greater numbers of citizens wake up to this reality, they are turning to OCPA, Oklahoma's most credible resource for ideas which can improve our economy through the application of free-market principles.

If you've never joined OCPA, do so now! It's time we tell those super-size spendthrifts in Oklahoma City and Washington, DC: "No thanks!"

By Brett A Magbee