Senator Michael Bennet sent me an email yesterday asking for ideas on “how to reform Washington”. Here are the thoughts I respectfully provided in response.

In response to your question, “How do we reform Washington to deliver results to the American people?” I have the following thoughts.

Thank goodness for “partisan gridlock”; without it I shudder to think how much this congress would have spent. We don’t need to freeze spending at the higher levels you and President Obama have instituted, we need to SLASH spending. The historically unprecedented deficit and debt are a more serious threat to our nation than any foreign government or terrorist organization.

We need to end the thinking that “government solves problems for Americans.” Nowhere in the Constitution does it say the Governments job is to babysit citizens. The thinking that Americans need government to provide, jobs, health care, and happiness is flawed. Companies provide jobs when government gets out of the way and quits trying to control the economy. Health care is not a right; no one has a right to the labor or money of another person. Americans are the most self reliant and productive workforce in the world, quit treating us like children who cannot take care of themselves. Get out of the way and watch us grow.

Finally, quit governing to the lesser citizens. By this I mean we need to govern with the ideas in mind of how do we help the producers in our nation produce even more, hire more, innovate more. Instead our government keeps wanting to subsidize the net consumers in our populace. By subsidizing unemployment, “free” healthcare, and non-production we get increased government expenditures with no return. Oh you might get a return at the ballot box with people perfectly happy to be a dependent of the State but our Nation is made weak. No matter how much we spend subsidizing citizens who consume more than they produce, we cannot make America prosperous. However, by getting out of the way of producers and innovators we can make America strong as our history has proven.

Thank you for your time and I look forward to assisting you in reforming Washington to a “hands-off” model. Best Regards, Allyen E. Wilson III Lakewood, CO

My wife Stacy and I received an email newsletter from our Senator, Mr. Mark Udall, D-CO. The newsletter tells us how proud he is that he is supporting legislation to “put an end to credit card companies’ abuses.” He is also proud to be supporting legislation, “reining in out-of-control federal spending.” I am all for controlling spending, yet Mr. Udall wants to control federal spending while supporting the public option in health care reform, what a conflict in ideas!

Anyway, Stacy wrote and emailed the Senator with a concise and expertly written summation of our views on these matters. Please enjoy her remarks below.

Two thoughts for you in response to your newsletter.

At what point are we going to hold people responsible for using their credit cards beyond their ability to pay? Do we actually expect the credit card companies to continuously lose money because of the poor decisions made by their customers? Why is all the focus on regulating corporations, while not a word is said about individual responsibility? It doesn’t seem to matter what the industry is. The prevailing attitude seems to be to control corporations. Forget the fact that millions of Americans choose to spend beyond their means.

Which is related to my second thought. The government has an opportunity to demonstrate restraint in spending, showing Americans that it is possible to live within available means. You can’t always have everything you want when you want it. Please do not raise the Federal debt ceiling. That sends the wrong message to Americans who need to be more individually responsible. The government has got to get responsible for its behavior too.

Side note: I neither want nor expect government to ENSURE that I have:

1. A job
2. A house with a cheap mortgage
3. Healthcare insurance
4. The ability to buy whatever I want whether I can pay or not

Individual responsibility and hard work must once again become a hallmark of our society.