U.S. Senator Ron Johnson made several stops in northwestern Wisconsin last week, citing the need to spread pertinent, truthful information regarding the state of the nation. 

On the evening of April 3, he was at Paradise Landing in Balsam Lake, with close to 70 people attending to hear him speak.

Johnson warned the contingent that his presentation leans toward the depressing, and that he frequently “ruins the day” of those he speaks to in the morning.

What’s ruining his day is the stalemate between lawmakers.

“I am very sincere about willing to work with anybody who’s willing to first acknowledge the problem and then work with me in good faith to solve it,” Johnson said. “The only way we start solving these problems is with information, we have to agree on the facts and figures, and we’re not there yet. We’re just not.” 

Johnson compared the current stalemate over facts and figures to buying a business, where the owner and buyer have separate financial books. 

“If the owner has got one set of books, and me as the buyer has got a separate set of books, and they’re dramatically different, I will guarantee you we will never have a successful negotiation,” he said. “We have to actually agree on an audited statement.”

Johnson spent a little over 20 minutes wading through the charts and figures of his power-point presentation, which included information on growth of government, spending, social security insolvency, and the Affordable Care Act. 

In terms of government spending, Johnson showed a trajectory when, by 2035, 49 cents of every dollar spent in the United States would flow through the federal government. 

“To me, 49 percent, by the way, is right at the heart of European-style socialism. That’s what those governments spend,” he explained. “Those economic models are collapsing. There are riots in the street in Greece. Economic history tells us that these economic models don’t work.”

Johnson noted that Republicans are not talking about cutting federal government spending, but rather limiting the rate of growth to curtail the possibility of a future debt crisis.

Johnson displayed a chart showing the individual debt of each American as a percentage of what the federal government owes as being $52,147. In ten years, Johnson’s projection jumped to $75,000. 

“Do you understand what we’re doing to our children?” Johnson asked rhetorically. “I personally do not know of any parent that would willingly drive up their personal debt never intending to ever pay it off, but fully intending to pass that debt burden on to their children and grandchildren. On a personal basis we don’t do that, and yet collectively that’s exactly what we are doing to our children. I want that sinking in. Do you understand how immoral that is?”

Johnson cited government involvement as the root cause of many of the issues concerning individual citizens, and showed the first video in a new series called “Victims of Government,” available on his website or YouTube.

Asked about what role the government should play in college tuition, Johnson predictably prescribed less government involvement, while suggesting that free market play a bigger role. 

On tax policy, Johnson stated that he is in favor of scrapping the current code and starting from scratch. 

“I’d start with two principles: raise the revenue you need, and second principle, do no economic harm,” Johnson replied. “Quit trying to socially and economically engineer through the tax code. Eliminate all that.”

In response to a query over the September 11, 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Johnson vowed to continue to dig for answers until the truth comes out. He stated that “whistle-blowers” who were present during the attacks have begun to come forward. However, they are afraid to talk because they are technically contractors to the CIA. 

“If they come forward and talk they will never work for the federal government again,” he explained. “They’ve had the fear of the lord put in to them. You hear about whistle-blower protection, well, there’s none being afforded to these folks right now.”

After an admittedly “depressing” presentation, Johnson closed with a hint of optimism. 

“I know I’ve been kind of depressing up here, but I haven’t given up hope, I never will,” Johnson said. “This nation is worth preserving. It’s our job. It’s our duty, to make sure that this country not only survives for future generations, but that it absolutely thrives.”

View original article