MONROE - Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) is already making plans to seek a second six-year term, and his presentation to community leaders Wednesday at Orchid International Monroe showed he has not let go of his previous campaign promise of cutting government out of people lives and businesses.
"I hope people understand," Johnson said, "all good intentions of government have very serious negative consequences. I'm there now. I can guarantee you, federal government never even measures the intended consequences; the intended results (of their programs). ... They don't even consider the very negative consequences."
Johnson said he is starting to see some bipartisan movement in Congress after the last presidential election, in which conservatives had hoped to win the presidency. But "neither side is going away," he said.
"I got a sense from people on both sides of the aisle (that) it's time to start governing," he added.
In the process of reaching agreements, members of Congress have to agree to work from a single source of audited statements - non-partisan and a-political, Johnson said, and he brought some of those numbers to Monroe to "lay out the facts."
Johnson showed past, present and projected spending by the federal government and its relationship to the economy. Government spending as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product has risen from two percent 100 years ago to 23 percent today and is on trajectory to reach 34 percent by 2035. State and local spending is expected to stack on another 15 percent, to reach a total spending of 49 percent of GDP.
"That's European-style socialism, right there," Johnson said. The results can already be seen in European countries, he added. "They don't work, they're collapsing."
Johnson's primary solution to kick-start the economy is scaling back the federal government.
"I think the root cause ailing our economy and, I would say quite honestly, our culture is the size and the scope, all the laws, all the rules, all the regulations, all government's intrusions into our lives and the resulting costs of big government," he said.
Reports of draconian cuts to the federal budget are "myths," Johnson said. "Nobody is proposing cutting federal government spending. We're just trying to limit the rate of growth. I think it's a very important distinction."
Part of the problem, he said, is that "way too much of the federal budget is off-budget; that is, it's not controlled; it's not appropriated."
Congressional appropriations have fallen from 68 percent of the budget in the 1960s to 34 percent today, according to the figures Johnson presented. The other portion of the budget, mandatory spending, includes Social Security, interest on debt, Medicare, Medicaid, and food stamps.
"We have 66 percent on automatic pilot," Johnson said. "And in ten years, if we don't get our arms around this thing, only 24 percent will be appropriated; 76 percent will be on automatic pilot."
Johnson said the federal government is technically bankrupt, and last year, the Federal Reserve purchased 77 percent of the US Treasury bonds issued. That's dangerous, and with our debt per capita, we'd be better off in Greece, according to Johnson.
"The only reason it's not functionally bankrupt is because we own the printing press," he said. "The only reason we don't have riots in the streets? We have that printing press."
"I hope people understand," Johnson said, "all good intentions of government have very serious negative consequences. I'm there now. I can guarantee you, federal government never even measures the intended consequences; the intended results (of their programs). ... They don't even consider the very negative consequences."
Johnson said he is starting to see some bipartisan movement in Congress after the last presidential election, in which conservatives had hoped to win the presidency. But "neither side is going away," he said.
"I got a sense from people on both sides of the aisle (that) it's time to start governing," he added.
In the process of reaching agreements, members of Congress have to agree to work from a single source of audited statements - non-partisan and a-political, Johnson said, and he brought some of those numbers to Monroe to "lay out the facts."
Johnson showed past, present and projected spending by the federal government and its relationship to the economy. Government spending as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product has risen from two percent 100 years ago to 23 percent today and is on trajectory to reach 34 percent by 2035. State and local spending is expected to stack on another 15 percent, to reach a total spending of 49 percent of GDP.
"That's European-style socialism, right there," Johnson said. The results can already be seen in European countries, he added. "They don't work, they're collapsing."
Johnson's primary solution to kick-start the economy is scaling back the federal government.
"I think the root cause ailing our economy and, I would say quite honestly, our culture is the size and the scope, all the laws, all the rules, all the regulations, all government's intrusions into our lives and the resulting costs of big government," he said.
Reports of draconian cuts to the federal budget are "myths," Johnson said. "Nobody is proposing cutting federal government spending. We're just trying to limit the rate of growth. I think it's a very important distinction."
Part of the problem, he said, is that "way too much of the federal budget is off-budget; that is, it's not controlled; it's not appropriated."
Congressional appropriations have fallen from 68 percent of the budget in the 1960s to 34 percent today, according to the figures Johnson presented. The other portion of the budget, mandatory spending, includes Social Security, interest on debt, Medicare, Medicaid, and food stamps.
"We have 66 percent on automatic pilot," Johnson said. "And in ten years, if we don't get our arms around this thing, only 24 percent will be appropriated; 76 percent will be on automatic pilot."
Johnson said the federal government is technically bankrupt, and last year, the Federal Reserve purchased 77 percent of the US Treasury bonds issued. That's dangerous, and with our debt per capita, we'd be better off in Greece, according to Johnson.
"The only reason it's not functionally bankrupt is because we own the printing press," he said. "The only reason we don't have riots in the streets? We have that printing press."