Free Isn’t Free: Somebody Is Paying The Bill

We hear the word “free” thrown around a lot in politics.

Free college. Free housing. Free healthcare. Free government programs.

But there is no such thing as free when the government is paying for it. Government doesn't produce its own money. It spends money that comes from the American people, either through taxes or through borrowing that eventually has to be paid back.

That means every time a politician promises something for “free,” somebody is paying the bill.

And that somebody is us.. The American Tax Payer.

American Families Are Already Paying Enough

Families across Arizona understand what it means to live within a budget.

When gas, groceries, utilities, insurance, and housing get more expensive, you have to make decisions. You prioritize. You eliminate unnecessary expenses. You figure out how to do more with what you have.

Washington should be expected to do the same thing.

Instead, the federal government has developed a culture where the first answer to almost every problem is another program, another agency, another regulation, or another spending package.

And when government spends too much, wastes money, or fails to produce results, the answer cannot continually be to ask taxpayers for more.

We work too hard for our money for Washington to treat it like an unlimited resource.

Fiscal Responsibility Starts With Accountability

I believe government should be held to the same basic standard we expect everywhere else: if you spend someone else's money, you should be able to explain where it went and what taxpayers received in return.

That means eliminating reckless spending, identifying fraud and waste, shrinking unnecessary bureaucracy, and demanding measurable results from the programs taxpayers are funding.

It also means recognizing that bigger government is not automatically better government. In-fact, I have always believed in minimal government and maximum freedom.

This is not a new concept for me, or just an idea that sounds good while campaigning

When I took over as the Pinal County Sheriff in 2017, our agency was nearly $2 million over the approved budget. The first thing I did was direct my staff to audit every dollar being spent. We had to make some tough decisions, but within six months, we not only got the Sheriff's office under budget, we worked with the Board of Supervisors to allocate the funding to give our deputies and jail staff raises that were long overdue.

Government should perform its legitimate responsibilities effectively, protect our rights, and serve the people. It should not continue expanding simply because Washington has become accustomed to spending more.

We Need to Change Washington’s Mindset

Fiscal responsibility isn't about eliminating every government program or refusing to invest in America's future.

It's about priorities.

Before Washington looks for another dollar from American families, Congress should be asking some basic questions:

Is this necessary? Is it constitutional? Is it working? Is the money being spent efficiently? And are we putting the interests of American citizens first?

Those shouldn't be controversial questions.

They're the questions taxpayers deserve to have answered.

Washington doesn't have a revenue stream independent of the people. Ultimately, taxpayers pay for government, and taxpayers deserve leaders who remember that.

By the way, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office operated within it's budget for the remainder of my time in office, and this is the same mentality I will take with me to Washington.

Free isn't free. The American people are paying the bill.

Enough is Enough

Make sure you do not sit this election out. If we fail to show up on November 3rd, we will not only find ourselves in a deadlock waste of time in Washington, we will empower the socialists that hate America to continue dismantling the American dream, advance their agenda of more government, more debt, less freedom, less liberty, and "We The People" will pay for it.

Government Works for You

The people don't work for the government. Government works for the people.

That principle should apply to our rights, our freedoms, and our money.

I’m running for Congress because I believe Washington needs more accountability, less bureaucracy, and leaders willing to remember whose money they are spending.

It’s your money.

And I intend to treat it that way.

Mark Lamb
Candidate for U.S. Congress, Arizona’s 5th Congressional District