Congressman for All Alaska Don Young issued the following statement regarding the President’s State of the Union Address:
"Just like last year, the President has made a symbolic gesture in the form of a proposed spending freeze. Unfortunately, this populist approach is unrealistic and does not solve the problem. ‘Just cut spending’ is the easy answer that does nothing and seems to be the phrase that everyone is throwing around lately as if it’s the answer to our economic woes. It is not. Just cutting the spending will not get us out of the hole; the same way cutting back your expenses doesn’t magically pay your credit card bill every month. The only way to balance our budget and to create jobs is to put a stop to excessive regulation and generate real wealth. The answer is simple: production.
“This country has vast amounts of oil, gas, timber, and mineral resources to name a few; however we pay foreign countries, some hostile, for theirs. We are a culture rich in agriculture, and yet we still get our produce from outside the U.S. We have a well and able-bodied work force but we buy our products from China. The millions of regulations that hinder industry in this, the greatest country in the world, are making it so that we must import even the most basic of goods, because red tape has prevented us from producing at home. I appreciate the President’s recognition that spending is out of control, but if he truly wants to make a difference, and leave a legacy, he will realize that production is the key to our future, not gestures.”
