Many voters may not have noticed, but the massive budget cuts that have hit Washington State, King County and Tacoma were avoided in Pierce County. This is because of leaders like Dick Muri. Before the economic crisis of 2008 the Pierce County Council adopted a bi-partisan budget that successfully cut waste from the county government and built up a substantial rainy day fund. This allowed Pierce County to avoid deep cuts to services and major tax increases.
We have not seen the same commonsense in congress. Rather than working together to balance the federal budget, congress has bankrupted future generations, all the while voting against a balanced budget amendment. Their neglect is willful, their failures a choice.
As your congressman, Dick Muri will choose to work with both parties to balance the budget. It will require courage to make tough decisions. Popular entitlement programs must be reformed. Waste in the Defense budget must be cut. The tax code must be re-written to be fairer, flatter and less prone to the political abuses that allow massive corporations, like GE, to avoid paying taxes – effectively shifting taxes to small businesses and the middle class.
