I think it’s appalling that the Obama administration is trying to find a way around provisions in the TARP legislation to use the extra funds for job creation stimulus instead of for paying down the deficit as was originally agreed  and laid out in the law.

The government recently announced that the losses incurred by TARP will be $200 Billion less than was originally projected. Any monies left over from TARP are to be used to pay down the spiraling federal deficit. I am in 100% agreement that this “extra” $200 Billion be put toward retiring some of the debts incurred by TARP, but now Obama is trying to find a loophole to use it for more stimulus spending.

I have long been a proponent of paying down the national deficit because, quite frankly, it makes good financial sense. In the long run, reducing and eliminating the federal deficit would allow LOWER tax rates AND increased government spending because of the savings on interest payments. In 2008, 18% of all incoming taxes to the federal government went toward interest payments on the national debt. This percentage is artificially low because of historically low interest rates and will climb significantly higher in the future as rates increase.

That 18% is $454 Billion… imagine what we could do with all that extra money lying around. Lower taxes, better schools, and much, much more.