SPENDING: Start by fixing America

Presidential duties include taking care that the laws be faithfully executed and to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States of America. For decades, our leaders, local, state and federal, have gravely abused this government power. With our country in its current state, our leaders need to focus on "fixing America first."

Fixing America (or Idaho for that matter) does not mean making cuts in Health & Welfare. As Ed Mueller stated in his My Turn article of Jan. 28, cuts would only result in spending much more for incarceration or institutionalization.

Asking taxpayers to support a school levy of $68 million to overhaul public education is not needed either. The local, state, and federal legislatures, instead, need to look for this money elsewhere. Just to name a few:

EXCESS GOVERNMENT SPENDING

Estimated $240 billion just for employees, while productivity deficits increase excess value of government to 70 percent (www.publicpurpose.com/gf-gemp). Government agencies need to be overhauled to eliminate excess spending including those responsible for putting IOU's in our Medicare fund.

HEALTH CARE FRAUD

$54 billion a year. (Coalition Against Insurance Fraud)

FOREIGN AID

In excess of $25 billion a year (www.global issues.org; source OECD: April 2010). How can we help others if we can't even help ourselves?

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

$113 billion a year at the federal, state and local level ($200 million in Idaho). Our troops are overseas fighting and dying for this country while our leaders have not secured our own borders from potential terrorist attacks, drug and human trafficking, and illegal immigration. Every state needs E-verify with criminal charges to corporations who hire illegal immigrants.

This $432 billion per year wasteful spending is just the tip of the iceberg. Does it sound like our laws are being faithfully executed? With a little common sense and less politics, FIX AMERICA FIRST.

JoANN LOKKEN

Coeur d'Alene