I was saddened to see that radio legend Paul Harvey passed away last weekend. Harvey’s distinctive voice and style brought him millions of followers. In later years, he made a habit of bringing us the rest of the story. Harvey’s common sense and wit endeared him to many Americans.

One of my favorite quotes of his: “When your outgo exceeds your income, the upshot may be your downfall.” As we deal with the annual task of budgets in Washington, both Democrats and Republicans ought to keep this in mind.

The budget deficit for this year is projected to be over $1.75 trillion dollars. It is expected to remain in the trillions for the next several years and then drop to hundreds of billions of dollars. We need to balance the budget now, not later.

To do that, we need to make tough choices on spending. I understand that it is difficult because too many programs are supported by special interests and protected by Washington bureaucrats. However, the people sent us there to protect their money and make those hard choices.

I have long supported a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. This amendment would require our federal budget to be in balance, unless three-fifths of lawmakers vote to spend more money than we have. States like Missouri are able to balance their budget and the federal government should too.

Our first obligation to taxpayers is to be responsible with their money. Missourians do not spend money they do not have and Washington shouldn’t either.

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