"Instead of cracking jokes, Vice President should commit to meaningful reforms aimed at balancing the federal budget without raising taxes on American families," says CFIF President Jeff Mazzella.
                                                                                                                                                      
Washington, D.C. (October 6, 2010) – The Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) today called on Vice President Biden to support meaningful reforms to balance the federal budget without raising taxes on American families after he joked at a fundraising event on Tuesday afternoon that if he heard “one more Republican tell me about balancing the budget, I am going to strangle them.” 

"We’ve seen time and time again the Vice President’s casual nature leading him astray, however the trillions of dollars of debt incurred over the last two years that is strangling our country's economic growth and burdening the next generation is no laughing matter,” said CFIF President Jeff Mazzella.  “The Vice President should stop cracking jokes and commit to working with fiscally responsible members of both parties to stop Washington’s reckless spending spree.”
 
Since assuming control of both houses of Congress in the November 2006 mid-term election, Democrats have raised spending to stratospheric levels.  From 2007 to 2008, federal spending increased 9.3%, then skyrocketed an astounding 17.9% between 2008 and 2009, and another 16.1% between 2009 and 2010.  During that same three-year period of Democratic Congressional control, government spending per American household has jumped from $24,817 to $30,543.

The January 2007 deficit of $161 billion increased progressively to $239 billion for 2008 and $460 billion in 2009, which then tripled to $1.4 trillion in President Obama’s first year alone. This year’s projected deficit stands at another $1.3 trillion.
 
“The time for punch lines and laughs are over,” added Mazzella.  “Absent a commitment to meaningful reforms aimed at getting our nation’s fiscal house in order without saddling American families with higher taxes, no one will be laughing soon.”

The Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) is a constitutional and free market advocacy organization.  CFIF recently launched its national "One More Vote" campaign to force Congress to balance the federal budget without raising taxes. Visit OneMoreVote.org and become part of the solution today.

###

Contact:

Jeff Mazzella, CFIF
703.535.5836