By Hiram Reisner

U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson says the only way for America to get out of its fiscal quagmire is for Congress to establish hard spending caps. Otherwise, the federal government will be “literally bankrupting America,” the Wisconsin Republican says.

“Let’s start from stopping bankrupting this nation. The reason I came to Washington is because I realized that we’ve been undertaking this $4.2 trillion experiment in Keynesian economics and we are literally bankrupting America — that is scaring consumers, that is scaring businesses,” Johnson said Tuesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” referring to the theory that the public sector can boost the economy.

Johnson, who spent three decades in manufacturing before being elected to the Senate in November, said excessive spending should be first on Congress’ attack list.

“We obviously need to reform our tax system — we’ve got to create jobs,” he said. “But the only way we start doing that is to restore confidence in this economy, and I think the only way you do that is we’ve got to establish hard spending caps.”

Republicans need a willing partner to return the economy to the hands of the private sector, Johnson said, adding, “Obviously, this president has not been a willing partner.”

“Just take a look at his budget: He was going to add $13 trillion to our nation’s debt — it lost in the Senate zero to 97,” Johnson said. “I mean that’s a stunning repudiation of his leadership. And the bottom line here is: We need members of the party of entitlement — that’s the Democrats — to step up to the plate and acknowledge the problem.”

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