East TN Conservative

Fred has a plan Nicki from The Liberty Zone writes Where are all the other GOP contenders who spew out nebulous intangibles about what they will or will not do? Fred Thompson has an actual plan to reduce government spending that includes steps to balance the budget and eliminate worthless government programs. 1. Limit Non-Defense Federal Spending to Inflation. Federal spending is expected to grow an average of 4.5 percent each year over the next five years. This growth is more than twice as fast as the estimated rate of inflation! Slowing the rate of growth in federal spending would help the federal government balance its books. Further cost savings can be achieved by limiting increases in the annual rates of growth for mandatory federal spending programs. 2. Implement a One-Year Hiring Freeze Pending Completion of Federal Government Strategic Assessment. Initiate a senior-level Administration assessment of the federal government's activities to determine their proper alignment with national priorities. This assessment will permit a re-shaping of the federal government to best address these priorities. Until that assessment is completed, institute a one-year freeze on the hiring of all non-essential civilian workers and contractors. This will give a new Administration time to assess its personnel requirements in order to "right size" the federal workforce, commensurate with national priorities, to match staffing and contracting needs to agency responsibilities across the executive branch. 3. Conduct a Comprehensive Cost-Benefit Analysis of All Federal Programs. Over the past few years, the Office of Management and Budget's Program Assessment Rating Tool has found that many federal programs are ineffective or only moderately effective. With the aid of rigorous cost-benefit analysis and relying on the Government Performance and Results Act, the President must work with Congress to determine which federal programs to eliminate, reduce, combine, or place on probation. There's more. Go. Read. Decide. And while you're at it, drop by the Liberty Sphere for an analysis of last night's GOP debates. Martyn says Fred handily spanked the others. Before the debate, only 3 of the roughly 30 citizens who made up the focus group stated that they supported Fred Thompson. After the debate, the overwhelming majority stated that Thompson won the debate and that they liked what they saw. Why? Because Fred doesn't just blow hot air. He's not just a cult of personality. He doesn't try to ride his past public service into office, even though he has plenty of experience as a public servant. He doesn't try to ride his religion into office. And he certainly doesn't try to ride 9-11 into office. He simply states his plan and points out the lies and inconsistencies of his opponents. You like his plan? Support him. He's the only one who actually came up with anything resembling a plan for immigration and controlling government spending. He's the only one who came out strongly in support of restoring college students' right to self defense immediately after the Virginia Tech massacre. Say what you will about the others, but at least Fred has a plan.