The following article was written by Nebraska Convention of States volunteer Bryce Johnson and originally published in the Lincoln Journal-Star.
Growing interest in an Article V Convention of States is facilitating great discussion across the state of Nebraska -- and some shockingly odd arguments against fiscal restraint.
The Local View by Renee Fry ("Say no to Convention of States," April 4) bestowing the merits of federal debt to oppose LB1058 and a faithful delegate law that would give instructions to commissioners sent to an Article V Convention of States, is one such odd argument.
Fry’s key selling points to the increasing immoral debt: federal debt stabilizes the economy; balancing the budget would hinder the ability to stop an economic free fall; and fiscal restraint at the federal level would have devastating consequences for Nebraska.
I find her reasoning odd considering that, at the end of 2017, Nebraska was ranked as the sixth best-run state in the nation because Nebraska is fiscally sound and the rainy day fund is 16.1 percent of its 2018 budget, according to 24/7 Wall Street. In December, it wrote“Nebraska’s debt accounts for only 15.9 percent of its total revenue, the second lowest debt-to-revenue ratio of any state.”
Furthermore, the Congressional Budget Office and Government Accountability Office, both nonpartisan organizations, say current spending policies are unsustainable.
A classic example of “do as I say, not do as I do.”
The top Article V expert in the country, Rob Natelson, wrote recently in The Hill that only big-government advocates are against using Article V and likens their fear mongering and disinformation to voter suppression efforts.
Why would anyone be afraid of putting limits on Washington? Limiting D.C. puts the states back in charge of everything stolen from us by unelected bureaucrats and swamp monsters on Capitol Hill over the past 100 years.
I believe we owe it to the generations bankrupted by irresponsible fiscal behavior to try to fix Washington and put the power back in our hands.
