House Majority Whip Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) was quoted in The Hill earlier this week discussing the country’s economic outlook. Despite the President’s recent efforts to talk about savings, Rep. Clyburn took a different tack, saying that “wouldn’t help alleviate the recession.” He added:

“We’re not going to save our way out of this recession. We’ve got to spend our way out of this recession, and I think most economists know that.”

Beyond the fact that this budget provides little in the way of savings, Rep. Clyburn is right that we need to be doing more to get our economy back on track. However, that does not include spending more money that we don’t have. Especially in light of a harsh report from the TARP Inspector General this month, it is clear that this Administration’s flawed economic policies have failed to provide the sustained economic growth necessary for the markets to rebound. We need a return to common sense policies that will spur innovation and job growth by empowering the private sector, not Washington.