Obama Recession Calls for Belt Tightening

Last week, a surrender was announced. Many unemployed surrendered to the federal government and accepted a handout in the form of extended unemployment benefits. As a fiscal conservative who believes in limited government, I would like to request that instead of taking money from the government, that Americans begin to look at ways they can tighten their belt.

Yes, as a congressman I'm very well compensated for my work and before that I was even better compensated working for my father. When I'm done in congress I will go to K Street where I will be paid even more handsomely as a lobbyist. However, I wasn't always wealthy. When I began work for my father, I did not start at the top.

I remember that Fall when I brought home plane tickets for a vacation to Aspen, how my wife burst into tears. She had had her heart set on Paris and here we would be flying coach to Colorado in the offseason. Fortunately, we were able to upgrade our seats using frequent flier miles and looking back on it, those six weeks in Aspen were some of the happiest of our marriage.

That year we cut corners every way we could. We drank domestic champagne. If we ate lobster, you can be sure it was Canadian and not Maine. We even got by with a once a week cleaning lady instead of a maid.

The point is, if you relax your expectations and your standard of living, the world won't end. If things do rebound for you, you'll appreciate all those things you gave up when you can afford them again. Above all, remember it costs no money to pray or to spend some quality family time together huddling for warmth. If we all do our part, I have no doubt we can keep the Bush tax cuts without leaving future generations saddled with debt.

What's a Few Billion Dollars Between Friends?

My buddy Paul Ryan (R-WI) is a bit of a nerd. While the rest of us were playing cards over at Jim Jodan's (R-OH) place, Paul is like cranking out this thing. He keeps calling in from the kitchen and asking us, "do we want to cut this or do we want to cut that?" I'm drawing an inside straight and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) is already mouthing off about the way I play cards. You don't backtalk a Baton Rouge gambler either cause he'll stick you.

Anyway, the game is going great and all of a sudden Paul's like, "I finished the whole damn thing. This is like the most killer budget ever."

At first we were all, "Shut up Ryan! We're trying to play cards", but I have to admit I'm really proud that we produced this budget. Not only does it include some nice tax cuts like the kind that had guided us to prosperity over the past 8 years before you know who became the President, but if you look at that chart, we are so kicking his budget's ass in 2035. That's the best thing about being home for these couple weeks. If I was in Washington, I'd have a staffer telling me I can't type the word "ass".

Anyway, the White House was not happy when we put out our own budget. They were like telling us that making a budget was really complicated and we'd never figure it out, but we showed them. That's how we kick it GOP style.