FREEDOMWORKS

Keep your word. Don’t take things that aren’t yours. Don’t spend more than you have. This is common sense for most people. But in Washington, D.C., these grade-school lessons are considered downright radical.

For decades, those of us in the real world have wondered why our political leaders won’t follow these simple rules. As our national debt rocketed past $5 trillion, $10 trillion, $15 trillion and beyond, we asked how the federal government got so out of control and what we can do to fix it before the U.S. economy goes Greek?

Whether the president had a “D” or an “R” after their name, the wave of red ink just continued to rise. But there was a brief moment in the ’90s when Congress actually forced a liberal president to sign the first balanced budget in a generation. One of the congressmen behind that effort is back to return common sense to the Beltway.

FREEDOMWORKS

Kasey Locke is a bright, beautiful six-year-old girl. But she faces challenges most kids never will. At age three, Kasey was diagnosed with autism.

When she started kindergarten at her Phoenix, Ariz., public school, Kasey’s parents worked with school officials to incorporate a new learning method that worked well for her. When the school didn’t apply these methods, her parents continued to tutor her after school.

Then Arizona created a revolutionary new school choice option called Empowerment Scholarship Accounts. Now, a portion of Kasey’s state education funding is deposited into a private account. Her parents can use that money to pay for school tuition, online classes, tutoring, books, and other expenses. Any leftover money can even be saved for college.