WASHINGTON—The Heritage Foundation today released the third and fourth of five animated shorts in a series called “Road Trip on a Budget,” produced in collaboration with Sen. Rick Scott of Florida. The series is aimed at educating Americans and raising awareness on Washington’s out-of-control spending, with the goal of bringing the issue of fiscal responsibility back to the forefront.
Senator Rick Scott said, “Reckless government spending has driven America’s federal debt to nearly $30 trillion. Now, thanks to the insane tax-and-spending spree of President Joe Biden and Democrats in Washington, we are seeing six straight months of raging inflation. It’s time to face reality, ditch these foolish and wasteful multi-trillion dollar plans and protect American families from rising inflation. With the debt ceiling suspension expiring this week, on July 31, we need real spending reform, like my Federal Debt Emergency Control Act, before we consider raising the debt ceiling. We cannot allow Congress to continue mortgaging the futures of our children and grandchildren.”
Matthew Dickerson, director of Heritage’s Hermann Center for the Federal Budget, thanked Scott for his partnership on the project:
“The importance of Congress exercising spending restraint instead of continuing down the path of seemingly endless, reckless federal spending cannot be understated. For instance, Democrats are looking to pass a $3.5 trillion budget kickstarting the reconciliation process to pass all of their legislative priorities, including non-budget related policies like mass amnesty, and few are talking about the consequences. This budget resolution represents more of the same fiscal irresponsibility.
“When the federal government grows beyond its proper limits, and spends and taxes too much, it stifles prosperity, infringes on liberty, and makes it more difficult to live the American dream. Thanks to Sen. Rick Scott’s leadership, more Americans will be able to learn about the dangers of big-government spending adding recklessly to the national debt and increasing inflation, and by extension, prices of good Americans buy every day.”
The Biden administration and Democrats have embraced exorbitant spending in just a few short months in office and show no signs of slowing down.
The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, $2.7 trillion American Jobs Plan, and $1.8 trillion American Families Plan would all grow the federal government to unprecedented levels, inserting more government control into nearly every facet of American life. In addition, President Biden and congressional leaders have indicated they will soon adopt a budget resolution starting the reconciliation process that includes $3.5 trillion in new spending for every major, radical, socialist policy item that Biden has requested.
Adding even more deficit spending does nothing to address the underlying supply problems. In fact, doing so is likely to worsen inflation and further fuel consumers’ anxiety. These plans go far beyond traditional federal authority, and with them, comes the looming promise of tremendous debt that young people and generations to come will be responsible for paying back.
Click here to see the third video.
SCRIPT:
“Unfortunately, something is going on with our van. There’s smoke coming out of the engine. Uh oh. Gotta pull into the mechanic to figure out what’s wrong.
“Fortunately, things don’t look too bad. But if we looked under the hood of the federal government, we’d find plenty that needs to be fixed.
“We are nearing $30 trillion in debt, spending money like crazy, with no plan to pay it off.
“Worse, when we’ve been in debt trouble before, politicians in Washington have just let America keep maxing out its credit cards and stacking up debt with no consequences.
“Let’s put that into context: If we go back a million seconds, that’s 12 days ago. Just under two weeks. Going back a billion seconds? That would put us all the way back in 1990. A trillion seconds? Well, that would shoot us back more than 31,000 YEARS.
“So just think about that. The federal government is nearing $30 TRILLION in debt. That is a MASSIVE hole to dig ourselves out of.
“$30 trillion dollars is $233,000 in debt for every family in America.
“And when Washington keeps spending recklessly, bad things happen. We’re seeing it play out right now.
“Wasteful spending has consequences. It leads to inflation. When inflation rises, the price of every day goods goes up. Costs are rising at every step in the production of goods – costs that get passed on to consumers.
“Right now – gas prices are up. Food prices are up. And who does this hurt the most? Those on fixed incomes and the poorest families, like mine growing up. Every price increase makes a big difference for a struggling family.
“I grew up poor and watched my parents struggle to put food on the table. I know just how much a slight rise in prices can hurt a family because I saw it every day growing up.
“It’s clear things are headed in the wrong direction. Thankfully, it’s not too late to reverse course.
“Like a trip to the mechanic for your car, we CAN fix this for our nation. We CAN get a new engine.
“But we need to stop the reckless spending, pay down the debt and get our nation on track so every family can succeed.
“I’m Senator Rick Scott. Thanks for watching Road Trip on a Budget. Stay tuned to The Heritage Foundation’s social channels for more videos on America’s debt crisis and what we must do to put America back on a fiscally responsible path forward.”
Click here to see the fourth video, which debuted today.
SCRIPT:
“Bright lights, big city!
“Wouldn’t it be nice to build a new and beautiful city, where everything is free? Everyone gets a car. Everyone gets all the latest clothes. Everyone can buy whatever they want! There’s no debt and no consequences. Sign me up!”
“That sounds nice, and it’s not far off from how our government operates right now. Bloated federal agencies, insane spending, and unnecessary waste.
“Let’s review just a few of the many examples of ridiculous waste by the federal government.
“In 2019, the federal government wasted more than $175 BILLION on improper payments. That's $175 BILLION taxpayer dollars that will get zero return for American families.
“Several years ago, the Securities and Exchange Commission paid nearly $4 MILLION to reorganize the desks in its offices.
“And in 2007, the Department of Defense shelled out nearly $1 MILLION to ship two 19 cent washers.
“Washington spends with absolutely no return on American taxpayer dollars. It’s not sustainable and it’s dangerous. But what if we reined in government spending, lived within our means and paid down our debt? We could grow our economy and keep money in the private sector to invest in the things we care about – like the environment, public safety and education.
“That’s why we should see the debt ceiling as a big warning sign. We have to improve and protect programs like social security and Medicare while committing to match any increases in the debt ceiling to cuts in federal spending. This is the future – and it’s the only path if we want our nation to continue to be the America we know and love.
“Tune in for our next and final episode to see how we can fix this mess in Washington and return America to a fiscally responsible and sustainable path forward.
“I’m Senator Rick Scott. Thanks for watching Road Trip on a Budget. Stay tuned to The Heritage Foundation’s social channels for more videos on America’s debt crisis and what we must do to put America back on a fiscally responsible path forward.”
More information on federal spending and the budget can be found here.
