‘Blueprint for Reform’ Gives Desperately Needed Guidance to Washington

[Geee]

Heritage Foundation:

The barbaric attack in Nice, the slaughter of police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge, and Hillary Clinton’s umpteenth legal cakewalk leave many Americans feeling angry and powerless—and understandably so. The social contract seems to have been shredded by the mayhem that envelops us.

 

But the upcoming election and change of administration offer Americans an opportunity to demand a return to principles that can keep the nation free and strong—if embraced.

 

These principles—free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense—underlie the dozens of policy recommendations detailed in The Heritage Foundation’s new “Blueprint for Reform: A Comprehensive Policy Agenda.” Released last week, the publication is the latest in a series of “Mandate for Leadership” books that debuted in 1981 to guide the incoming Reagan administration.

 

Washington desperately needs the guidance, of course.

 

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As noted in “Blueprint for Reform,” excessive spending has nearly doubled the federal debt in recent years, from $9.9 trillion at the close of 2008 to $19.2 trillion in May 2016. There also has been an unparalleled expansion of regulation, with some 20,000 rules issued by the Obama administration and an increase in annual regulatory costs of more than $108 billion (according to the regulatory agencies’ own numbers). The loss of individual freedom is incalculable.

Meanwhile, the $1 trillion that Americans spend each year on means-tested welfare programs isn’t buying much self-sufficiency for the needy among us. And U.S. military capabilities have languished.