Washington Can’t Spend Its Way to Affordability

New Jersey families need lower costs, lower taxes, and accountable government, not another blank check.

By Gregg Mele

New Jersey families feel the cost of living crisis every day. Groceries cost more. Utility bills take a larger share of the household budget. Housing, insurance, transportation, and healthcare continue to strain working families and seniors.

Washington’s usual answer is to spend more, create another federal program, and send taxpayers the bill later.

That is not affordability.

When Congress spends and borrows without discipline, families ultimately bear the cost through taxes, federal debt, and pressure on prices. Government cannot make life more affordable by treating taxpayers like an unlimited line of credit.

A Practical Plan to Lower Costs

My approach begins with a simple principle: Washington must stop spending money it does not have on programs that do not deliver results.

In Congress, I will fight to:

• Oppose bloated spending bills and unnecessary federal programs

• Lower taxes for working families

• Reduce regulations that make it harder for small businesses to grow and hire

• Expand American energy production to help lower electricity, transportation, and manufacturing costs

• Demand measurable results for every taxpayer dollar

• Ensure New Jersey receives its fair share of federal resources

Before Congress approves another major program, taxpayers deserve to know what it will cost, how it will be funded, and whether it will actually make their lives better.

The Contrast Could Not Be Clearer

My opponent’s published agenda includes Medicare for All with no out-of-pocket costs, federal cancellation of $220 billion in medical debt, tuition-free public college, student-debt cancellation, universal childcare, and substantially increased federal education spending.

These promises may sound appealing, but they are not free. Their costs would be shifted to taxpayers, federal borrowing, or both.

My opponent says Washington is corrupt and controlled by powerful interests. Yet he wants to give that same federal government significantly more control over healthcare, education, childcare, and the economy.

That is not a solution. It is a blank check.

Good Intentions Are Not Enough

This election is not about whether we want families to have affordable healthcare, quality education, and financial security. We do.

The real question is how we achieve those goals without creating unaffordable promises, higher taxes, and permanent federal bureaucracies.

I believe the answer is economic growth, responsible spending, affordable American energy, strong small businesses, and a government that answers to taxpayers.

New Jersey families already know how to live within a budget. It is time Washington learned the same lesson.

Don’t give Washington another blank check.