Saving Freedom: on Homeland Security

Jim DeMint: Primary responsibility of government funding is defense

Most of the spending has been taken from funds that should have been used for the primary constitutional responsibility of the federal government--defense. Military spending dropped from 43% in 1966 to 20% in 2006. While "smart bombs" and other new high-tech weapons systems have lulled Americans into a false sense of security, our military is fighting with one hand tied behind its back. So much of our military spending is directed by political earmarks from congressmen and senators with parochial interests that we make it harder for our military leaders to develop coherent plans to defend our nation.

My point is this: There is a terrible cost to unrestrained government spending and debt. Part of that cost is the neglect of real national priorities such as defense.

Ronald Reagan: OpEd: To grow military, had to let Dems grow social programs

"For decades we have piled deficit upon deficit, mortgaging our future and our children's future for the temporary convenience of the present. To continue this long trend is to guarantee tremendous social, cultural, political, and economic upheavals. You and I, as individuals, can, by borrowing, live beyond our means, but for only a limited period of time. Why, then, should we think that collectively, as a nation, we're not bound by that same limitation?"

Unfortunately, Reagan had to deal with a Democrat Congress intent on expanding domestic spending for social programs. In order to get the spending he wanted to rebuild our military and back down the Soviets, Reagan was forced to give the Democrats the money they wanted for social programs. America's debt and dependency increased dramatically. Overall federal spending nearly doubled during the Reagan years, and federal deficits skyrocketed.