The best form of government is that at the local level, U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran said here Monday afternoon.
“We need to let the federal government defend the country and do most everything else at home,” said Moran. “The federal government has become so large it is difficult for it to do anything efficiently.
“We’ve gotten away from the 10th Amendment,” which says that all powers not specific to the federal government are to be at state and local levels, he said.
Moran spoke at the Iola American Legion to 30 people, including several World War II veterans.
The American dream, the promise of the possibility of prosperity and success, still is alive, Moran said, but is threatened by a national debt of $14.2 trillion, on the verge of surging higher with a pending vote to raise the limit.
“Forty-two cents of every $1 the federal government spends is borrowed,” he said. “By late May or early June we’ve spent annual (federal) tax revenues.”
Asked whether entitlements — Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security — were likely to be cut, Moran said “everything is on the table, except the security and safety of our soldiers.”
He allowed that the huge national debt wasn’t party-specific, that Republicans as well as Democrats had had roles in pushing it upward, but said he embraced the frugality of Kansans, who “understand that you don’t spend what you don’t have.”
While Moran said his goal was to preserve Medicare — most in his audience are enrolled — the national debt “has to be addressed.”
THE FEDERAL tax code and regulatory burdens have forced American businesses to move production off-shore, Moran said.
“The way to get out of the recession is to put people to work but with all the hurdles it’s nearly impossible to start a business” in the United States, he added. “With a positive environment, businesses will succeed,” leading to higher employment and increases in tax revenue.
“We need reasonable regulations so we can compete with other countries,” notably China and India.
The “environmental crowd” poses a threat to agriculture, near and dear to Moran’s heart as a Kansan, and “we also need an energy policy that does something about the cost of fuel,” another burden for agriculture.
He anticipates few changes to the farm bill, Moran told Stanley Dreher who asked, except that direct payments are in the sights of congressmen with non-farm backgrounds.
“What can be done to throttle the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency),” asked Jack Franklin.
“Greater oversight from Congress,” Moran said.
He called some regulations “crazy,” such as regulating gases generated by livestock manure and a California law that requires watering roads in rural areas to suppress dust.
Farmers must be open to educating those who know little about the industry, Moran added.
“We need to tell agriculture’s story better, including to some Kansans who don’t know what goes on on the farm,” he said.
