Martin Hoke: “the idea that the budget should be balanced is not new; although judging from the gnashing of teeth and wringing of…”

“the idea that the budget should be balanced is not new; although judging from the gnashing of teeth and wringing of hands that we have heard from the other side of the aisle it is downright revolutionary; but in fact it is an idea that is older than the Founding Fathers. Listen closely to what the Roman statesman Cicero had to say on the subject in 63 B.C. It sounds like it was written today: The budget should be balanced, the treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced. The arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed, lest Rome become bankrupt. I would say to my Democrat colleagues to pay special heed to Cicero's words concerning the arrogance of officialdom, as it was that, as much as anything else, that led to their party's decline and fall, and as for us Republicans, we must keep in mind that we are the agents of the people who sent us here, not their masters, and we must keep our promises to them to pass a balanced budget amendment, pass an unfunded mandates bill, and reduce the size and power of government.”