When Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church at Wittenberg in 1517, he ignited a spiritual revolution that would change Christendom forever. The Roanoke Tea Party hopes they can similarly ignite a fiscal revolution by posting a petition on the door of 6th District Representative Bob Goodlatte’s Roanoke office as part of their Fiscal Sanity Rally today at noon.
Here is the text of the petition they will post:
As concerned citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia, we bring this petition before our United States Congressional representative. We do not make these demands lightly, but as engaged citizens who see a Federal budget process that is out of control, and becoming increasingly desperate by the day.
The Crisis as We See it:
- The Federal Government has run up over $14 trillion dollars in debt which will need to be repaid from future tax revenue, or inflated away by debasement of the currency.
- Social Security and Medicare Programs have $114 trillion dollars in unfunded liabilities which are promised regardless of the government’s ability to pay.
- The Federal Reserve has, without Congressional oversight, acceded to continuing devaluation of the dollar.
- We continue to fund unconstitutional Federal Programs per Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution and the 10th Amendment
- This path is unsustainable. The fiscal future of this nation is doomed absent immediate and drastic action. Only principled, individual action from our legislators can hope to save our nation from this fate.
Actions We Need NOW
- Vote no on any future Continuing Resolution that does not include dramatic spending cuts and/or a balanced budget vote.
- Vote immediately to defund the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare).
- Vote no on raising the debt limit; begin serious cuts in Federal spending.
- Vote to address Medicare and Social Security insolvency.
- Vote to audit the Federal Reserve.
- Vote to defund federal agencies that are not sanctioned in Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution.
Only these drastic actions can save this nation from financial ruin. We hope we can count on you for leadership at this crucial moment in history.
While the Roanoke Tea Party is absolutely right in requesting that Congress take action on their petition, it could be argued that the Roanoke Tea Party is preaching to the choir. Some members of Congress need to be reminded why they were elected; Bob Goodlatte is not one of them. Since he was seated in 1993, Rep. Goodlatte has been a fairly consistent vote for fiscal responsibility. He has proposed the Balanced Budget Amendment in the 110th, 111th and the 112th Congresses. Rep. Goodlatte has recently taken the Obama Administration to task for what he believes is an unnecessary and exorbitantly expensive renovation of Roanoke’s Poff Federal Building—$50.9 million—funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. After fighting the project for more than one year, Rep. Goodlatte laments that he still has not received the answers that he has requested from the Obama Administration (is anyone really surprised?).
I believe the Roanoke Tea Party would find an ally in Rep. Goodlatte if they approached him and helped him demand answers on the Poff Building renovation. Instead, they are finding out how not to make friends and influence people in Washington.
