Bloated, Unconstitutional Federal Spending

As a political conservative, I'm alarmed about the federal spending pattern on education, "health and human services," and disaster bailouts. None of these are consitutional. I recommend we spend more on the military, which is clearly constitutional.

This didn't start with the current Bush administration, but it seems every administration since FDR just presses harder on the accelerator.

• The debt run-up is unconscionable. My children's grandchildren may die paying off a rebuilding of New Orleans. And now we're creating a precedent that the federal government is obliged to pay for the recovery after any and every natural disaster.
• The fine-sounding idea that the federal government can wisely spend money is not supported by historical data. Locals spending local dollars are usually pretty smart. The intelligence level drops off quickly when you think that you're spending "someone else's" money.
• The whole strategy of federalizing solutions simply undercuts personal, family, and community responsiblity.
• Creating ever-larger scope of the federal level is unconstitutional and dangerous. Gerald Ford wisely said, "A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take away everything you have."
• This environment does nothing to help our political leaders make difficult decisions. We're rapidly approaching a system where it is practically impossible for someone to remain in political leadership while arguing for spending less or returning to a Consitutional view.

What we sow, we reap. Let us pray for mercy, because we dare not pray for justice.