Matthew Falconer; Prosperity Through Lower Taxes

By Matthew Falconer

In just 200 years the United States of America went from a desolate wilderness to the greatest economy the world has ever known. Hard work and American ingenuity made America the most prosperous nation on earth.

But today, the American and Florida are suffering the worst economy in three generations. The single most important factor in our weak economy is massive levels of government spending. Government uses capital less effectively therefore higher levels of government spending lead to a weaker economy.

America can return to prosperity through lower taxes.

Progressives, including President Obama, believe government spending creates jobs. But the truth is government spending results in a net loss of jobs. Before government can spend a dollar it must first take it out of the private sector.

The more money we take out of the private sector the weaker our economy will become.

Two great examples of government spending projects weaken are economy are in Orlando. The first is the new Amway Arena which cost taxpayers $500 million.  Elected officials said will create jobs.  But if we left the $500 million in the private sector thousand more jobs could have been created. The private sector could have built another Millennia Mall or Ritz Carlton hotel. If you compare the arena, which sits empty 90% of the time, to a regional mall with thousands of full time employees generating tens of millions in tax revenue, the money is clearly better left in the private sector.

The second example is the Sun Rail project that progressive claim will create jobs. Sun Rail will create 374 full time jobs. But if we left the $1.2 billion in the private sector it can build another Universal Studios creating 15,000 full time jobs.

Sun Rail, like all government spending projects, results in net loss of jobs.

Clearly the private sector uses the money more effectively. To restore prosperity in America we must restore sound economic policies in our nation and realize;

Lower taxes and limited government yield the healthiest economy.

High levels of government spending tax the disposable income from consumers. The average consumer pays for almost all government spending in taxes embedded in the cost of goods and services they buy. Consumers pay for the cost of government spending when they buy groceries, clothes, and in their housing costs.

To give you an idea of just how devastating embedded taxes are to consumers I will use Orange County as an example. In 2008 local governments in Orange County spent $7 billion. There are 600,000 working taxpayers in Orange County so on average they spent $11,666 on their local government. That is 38% of their gross income.

We are starving our small business economy by taxing all of the disposable income from consumers.

Money does not fall from the sky. Each and every dollar they spend comes from a hardworking taxpayer. And the more dollars government takes from the taxpayer the weaker our economy becomes.

So how do we achieve lower taxes and a strong economy?

First, government needs to focus on the core functions of government; public safety, education, and basic social services. Government needs to stop playing venture capitalist and making bets with your tax money. My friend Marco Rubio puts it best; government should not pick winners and losers in our economy.

More importantly, we need to bring government into the 21^st century and increase efficiency. By reforming the way we provide government services we can reduce your taxes by 15-20%. In Florida, that means $20 to $30 billion more dollars into the private sector and tens of thousands of new jobs.

The only way government can create jobs is by reducing spending giving consumers more disposable income to spend. That is why I spent a year writing a book on how to deliver government services more efficiently; to bring down the cost of government and help our economy.

There are hundreds of ways to reduce the cost of government.

My book, “Building a Better Local Government” found potential savings of $1 billion a year in Orange County. Because of my research I was appointed by Florida House Speaker Dean Cannon to the “Government Efficiency Task Force.” Our mandate is to save Florida taxpayers $3 billion a year.

Finding ways to lower taxes is not difficult. What Florida needs are conservative leaders who understand sound economic policy and have the will to reform government. Florida needs leaders who will serve the taxpayers and not the special interests who live off the taxpayer.

Returning to Prosperity

America can and will return to prosperity and once again be the most successful nation on earth. But to get there we need to return to sound economic policies of low taxes and limited government.

In order to restore prosperity to Florida and America we need to bring government into the 21^st century.

I am dedicating myself to bringing innovation and efficiency to government so our children and grandchildren can have the same opportunities we had. I want our children to be the greatest generation in American history.

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