Fiscal Policy

We the people, in order to keep our fiscal responsibilities well in check, do require of our national representatives the following: All earmarks, or other types of specified allocation of tax revenues, must be voted on as pieces of stand-alone-legislation, they must be read aloud to the body of Congress in which they are being introduced for consideration, and each one must have at least one clearly defined author attached to it for the record. The spending that shall be done at the national level shall only be accomplished in relation to those items justified by clear Constitutional mandate, and they shall be designed so as to create a neutral rather than activist fiscal policy. Any spending that is spuriously passed will be recognized as such, and the responsible politicians will be held accountable to the voters. In order to maintain a balance of our economic health and the need to fulfill those promises made in the past, we recognize that the national debt may well have to continue, but that it may not be allowed to exceed a level beyond 75% of a running three year average of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). We further require that the Congressional Budget Office keep columns of accountability in place so that the Social Security and Medicare budgets be shown as definitively separate from the General Revenue of the national budget, so that all accounts may be seen for their short falls separately and distinctly. Further, those provisions not specifically tied to matters of national defense, are to be passed with sunset provisions attached, so that each piece of legislation has a built in review period to check the program or policy for effectiveness, thereby allowing the Congress to vote for program or policy extension, alteration, or revocation, and the voters may then be able to judge the actions of said Congress accordingly at the ballot booth.