{"id":2423203,"date":"2025-04-14T09:41:02","date_gmt":"2025-04-14T13:41:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/op-ed-dont-just-stop-wasteful-spending-kill-unconstitutional-spending-too\/"},"modified":"2025-04-14T09:43:56","modified_gmt":"2025-04-14T13:43:56","slug":"op-ed-dont-just-stop-wasteful-spending-kill-unconstitutional-spending-too","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/op-ed-dont-just-stop-wasteful-spending-kill-unconstitutional-spending-too\/","title":{"rendered":"Op-Ed: Don&#8217;t Just Stop Wasteful Spending, Kill Unconstitutional Spending, Too"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fop-ed-dont-just-stop-wasteful-spending-kill-unconstitutional-spending-too%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2423203&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The text discusses the growing concern over the financial state of the United States, emphasizing the unsustainable national debt and the need for meaningful budget reforms. The author argues that simply cutting wasteful spending is insufficient to balance the federal budget and proposes a radical approach: eliminating all federal spending that violates the U.S. Constitution, irrespective of whether such spending is deemed wasteful. <\/p>\n<p>To achieve a balanced budget, the author suggests the need for over $2 trillion in annual spending cuts and proposes a phased approach to shift certain responsibilities, such as Medicaid and education, back to state governments. The rationale behind this is that state governments are better suited to prioritize and fund these programs. <\/p>\n<p>Additionally, the author advocates for constitutional amendments to legitimize some federal programs currently viewed as unconstitutional and urges immediate action from Congress and the President to stop disbursing funds for unconstitutional spending. The goal is to restore fiscal duty,reduce dependence on borrowing\u2014particularly from China\u2014and enhance national security by controlling financial obligations. <\/p>\n<p>The text concludes by acknowledging that while these reforms will place financial burdens at the state level,they ensure that federal spending aligns more closely with constitutional guidelines and the principles of governance.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_2)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>The United States is careening toward bankruptcy! We spend more for interest on our national debt than we do on national defense. President Donald Trump says that he wants to balance the federal budget. But, eliminating wasteful spending won&rsquo;t get us there. Instead, it just sets us up for failure.<\/p>\n<p>We must go far beyond <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/380-million-unemployed-preschoolers-people-future-doge-makes-mind-blowing-new-discoveries\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">wasteful spending<\/a> and open a second front in our war on the size and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/musk-doge-team-sit-interview-revolution-gonna-fantastic-future\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">cost of the federal government<\/a>. We must bring out the most powerful weapon available, the budgetary atomic bomb that has been left hidden and unused for over 100 years.<\/p>\n<p>We must eliminate federal spending that violates the U.S. Constitution, regardless of whether that spending is wasteful.<\/p>\n<p>Balancing the federal budget will require annual cuts of more than $2 trillion. But as of April 1, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/watch-karoline-leavitt-confirms-horrible-doge-discovery\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">DOGE<\/a> has only identified roughly $140 billion of wasteful, fraudulent, and inefficient spending that could be eliminated.<\/p>\n<p>That is less than 7 percent of what is required, and not even close to being on track to getting us there. Also, woke totalitarian federal judges and Senate Democrats have very successfully slowed or stopped many of the cuts that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/trump-announces-doge-made-horrible-discovery-found-incredible\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">DOGE<\/a> and the other Departments have tried to implement.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>Federal spending that violates the Constitution is funding for any federal governmental function that is outside the scope of the enumerated powers that are explicitly given to the federal government by the Constitution and therefore must be funded by the states, as required by the Tenth Amendment<\/p>\n<p>Those Constitutionally legitimate, enumerated powers include functions such as conducting military defense, regulating interstate and foreign commerce, and running the Post Office.<\/p>\n<p>(For a complete list of those powers and the sections of the Constitution in which they are specified.)<\/p>\n<p>And they do NOT INCLUDE, for example:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Non-military foreign aid (e.g., for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/usaid-scandal-means-everday-americans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">USAID<\/a>).<\/li>\n<li>Federal insurance programs such as FEMA and Medicaid.<\/li>\n<li>K-12 and university education (adios Department of Education).<\/li>\n<li>Local pork projects (e.g., California Light Rail).<\/li>\n<li>Public housing.<\/li>\n<li>Unearned subsidies to individuals or companies (such as wind and solar energy subsidies and low-income tax credits).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Governmental functions that violate the enumerated powers\/Tenth Amendment criteria may well be legitimate at some level of government, but not at the federal level under the current U.S. Constitution.<\/p>\n<p>President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/kellyanne-conway-says-democrats-big-dilemma-trump-trade-tariff-success-stories-emerge\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Trump<\/a> should phase out federal spending on these functions over two years, balancing the budget and returning responsibility for prioritizing and funding these functions to the states (without any <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-to-sign-major-school-choice-executive-order-that-could-upend-the-public-school-system\/\" title=\"Trump to Sign Major School Choice Executive Order That Could Upend the Public School System\">federal block grants<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>Congress and the states should pass constitutional amendments to make some of those <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">functions constitutionally legitimate enumerated powers<\/a> of the federal government.<\/p>\n<p>For example, most Americans would probably support a constitutional amendment legitimizing many components of Social Security and Medicare, including incremental increases in the retirement age.<\/p>\n<p>Honest Republicans recognize that we cannot balance the budget without significant Medicaid reform, but are being beaten up by Democrats for suggesting any federal Medicaid cuts. The president and congressional Republicans must take the position that they don&rsquo;t oppose Medicaid, they only oppose the federal government&rsquo;s funding of it for two reasons.<\/p>\n<p>First, Medicaid is unconstitutional at the federal level because it does not meet the enumerated powers\/Tenth Amendment criteria for federal spending, and second, each state can decide the extent to which it wants to fund a Medicaid-style program (without funding from any federal block grants).<\/p>\n<p>This approach to Medicaid and other unconstitutional federal programs would require that states raise their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nolte-washington-post-biden-plan-builds-the-wealthy-back-more-than-anyone-else\/\" title=\"Nolte: Washington Post \u2014 Biden Plan Builds the Wealthy Back More than Anyone Else\">state tax rates<\/a>. However, returning these responsibilities to the states would force the costs of those programs to be prioritized and borne by state-level governments that cannot just cause inflation by printing money to fund their pet projects.<\/p>\n<p>Also, the burden of paying for this spending is where it should be: on the taxpayers who approve it and not on future generations.<\/p>\n<p>This approach should be phased in as quickly as possible over a 2.5-year period: for the rest of the current fiscal year (FY25) and fiscal years 2026 and 2027. This would give the states time to adjust their taxing and spending priorities and for passage of any constitutional amendments that voters want.<\/p>\n<p>But congressional Republicans and President Trump should start immediately.<\/p>\n<p>Returning responsibility for funding Medicaid and K-12 and university education to the states are just two examples that could be included in the federal budget for Fiscal Year 2026 (which starts on October 1, 2025). This would also allow us to eliminate the Department of Education, transferring any of its critical functions to other Departments (for example, transferring Title IX enforcement to the Justice Department).<\/p>\n<p>President Trump should refuse to disburse unconstitutional spending that has been previously passed by Congress. Not disbursing funds because they are unconstitutional would be much easier to defend in court than doing so just because the president designates that spending as wasteful or not in the national interest.<\/p>\n<p>Refusing to disburse funds that violate the enumerated powers\/Tenth Amendment criteria, would force woke totalitarian judges and congressional Democrats to identify the enumerated powers that justify that spending.<\/p>\n<p>They cannot.<\/p>\n<p>If the courts still rule that unconstitutional funding must be disbursed, then we will have a genuine constitutional crisis: What should be done when the courts ignore the Constitution?<\/p>\n<p>However, this would put President Trump and congressional Republicans where all good generals want to be: strategically on offense and tactically on defense.<\/p>\n<p>Eliminating unconstitutional spending does more than just get our national fiscal house in order. It&rsquo;s a matter of national security.<\/p>\n<p>We could eliminate enough unconstitutional spending and DOGE-identified wasteful spending in the 2026 budget to eliminate the need to borrow any more from China.<\/p>\n<p>We could then credibly threaten to end at least a substantial part of the interest payments that we make on our debt to China as one way (among others) of deterring China from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/china-invades-taiwan-pay-close-attention-will-happen-islands-7-elevens\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">invading Taiwan<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><i><b>The views expressed in this opinion article are those of their author and are not necessarily either d or endorsed by the owners of this website. If you are interested in contributing an Op-Ed to The Western Journal, you can learn about our submission guidelines and process <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/submitop-ed\/\">here<\/a>.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The United States is heading towards bankruptcy, spending more on interest for our national debt than on defense. President Trump aims to balance the federal budget, but merely cutting wasteful spending won&#8217;t suffice; it could lead to failure. We need to take more drastic measures and address federal spending that goes against the Constitution, not just focus on waste. Balancing the budget will require over $2 trillion in annual cuts, yet only about $140 billion of unnecessary spending has been identified so far\u2014less than 7% of what&#8217;s needed. Additionally, certain judges and Senate Democrats have hindered proposed cuts<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2423204,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Debt-Clock.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[43700,36155,15322,53396,47119],"class_list":["post-2423203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-fiscal-responsibility","tag-government-accountability","tag-op-ed","tag-unconstitutional-spending","tag-wasteful-spending"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Debt-Clock.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2423203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2423203"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2423203\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2423207,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2423203\/revisions\/2423207"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2423204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2423203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2423203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2423203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}