A luncheon was hosted for Utah Senator Mike Lee at the Jennifer Leavitt Student Center on the USU Eastern campus on Friday afternoon.
This luncheon kicked off with a welcome from Greg Dart, USU Eastern’s Associate Vice President. Dart stated that he was thrilled to have everyone there, especially their guest, the senator. With everything that is currently happening in the world, Dart said he could not thank Sen. Lee enough for taking time to join them on campus and share a few words.
Emily Parry and Amber Vincent, Carbon High School (CHS) Sterling Scholars, then sang the National Anthem before USU Eastern Student Body President Bryson Pugh led all in the Pledge of Allegiance. Lunch was an enjoyable affair, consisting of pulled pork sandwiches, beans, salad, rolls and refreshments.
Alexis Dart, Student Body President of CHS, then gave an introduction of Sen. Lee. He was elected in 2010 as Utah’s 16th Senator and acquired a deep respect of the Constitution early in life. Sen. Lee graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in political science and resides in Alpine with his wife.
Sen. Lee began his speech by explaining that he wished to dispel a few myths, the first being that government can do anything and can do anything well. Sen. Lee stated that this is false for the simple reason that it does not work. He then said that government is a force with an emblem on it, there to protect life, liberty and property while also providing public goods.
The public goods come in the form of resources that are available to many, such as roads, sewer systems and more. He then explained that every single word and provision in the Constitution is designed to constrain government, other than the 13th amendment.
The second myth that Sen. Lee wished to dispel was that the problem with Washington D.C. is that, due to partisan bickering, nothing can get accomplished. He stated that the public will hear that probably five times per day from the mainstream news media and hear it echoed by those all around.
Sen. Lee clarified that it is not being echoed due to foolishness, but because it is believed as it has been taught over and over again. What he has discovered, however, is that the opposite is true. Sen. Lee stated that a country does not get to be so deeply in debt without a lot of republicans agreeing with democrats to spend a lot of money.
Myth three was that the federal government spending does not impact the general population. Sen. Lee assured that it does and all solutions for resolving the national debt hurt the poor and middle-class Americans, though it will likely not have much affect on the rich.
Sen. Lee compared the national debt to Mount Everest, stating that by dropping a billion dollars on the ground each foot up the mountain, reaching the top would represent the sum total of America’s national debt.
“This is not sustainable,” shared Sen. Lee.
The idea that the current problems are unsolvable was the fourth and final myth that the senator spoke on, assuring that they are not. The senator explained that sometimes what is being done, such as digging a pit, must be stopped before anyone can get out.
“We must stop digging,” said Sen. Lee.
He then stated that no one should want anyone representing them in Washington that wants to spend more money. When things are done that the federal government is not equipped to do, it then neglects and performs badly on the few things that the federal government is constitutionally in power to do.
Senator Lee then stated that we are great as a country not because of who we are, but what we do and the choices that we have made. Those choices, according to Sen. Lee, came from the Constitution, which must be followed again.
Following this conclusion, Dart presented Sen. Lee with a mug made by the university’s art department and a banner with the USU Eastern logo.
