Stevens Point Journal: Johnson: Education key in dire economy
U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson is extremely worried about the U.S. economy.
The Republican from Oshkosh has written two bills he believes will help rein in government spending. One would put a moratorium on all federal regulations until unemployment drops below 7.7 percent. The other would reduce the federal workforce by hiring only one new worker for every three who retire.
"In three years, that could reduce the federal workforce by 10 percent," Johnson said Tuesday in a meeting with the Stevens Point Journal.
But Johnson's plan to get the country, and its economy, back on track goes beyond writing bills in Washington, D.C. The freshman senator is bringing his message to the people.
Armed with charts highlighting the federal government's increased spending, Johnson is pushing his fiscally conservative message, hoping to help others notice the cliff he believes the country is heading toward.
The federal debt grew from $5.8 trillion in 2001 to $15 trillion in 2011, he likes to point out.
"People need to be educated about what is going to happen," Johnson said. "I'm hoping I can talk to as many people as possible and convince them of the dire situation."
Johnson's biggest concerns with the current economy are what he sees as bloated government spending and resulting hesitation among investors and businesses. Cutting the number of federal employees would cut government costs, while halting regulation would free up companies and investors to push more money into the economy, he said.
On Tuesday, Johnson also reiterated his call for a constitutional amendment capping federal spending as a percentage of gross domestic product, somewhere around 18 percent, then prioritize spending when the cap is set.
"Our regulatory environment is onerous, our corporate tax rate is the highest, and we're not growing very well," Johnson said.
The former business owner shifted somewhat from his campaign call to repeal President Barack Obama's health care reform bill. Johnson said Tuesday it would be difficult to repeal the bill without a filibuster-proof Republican majority in the U.S. Senate -- a situation he doesn't see happening.
Instead, Johnson said a likely scenario would be to not fund parts of the bill to kill it, or hope the Supreme Court overturns the individual mandate later this year.
