Steve Moore with Club for Growth speaks in Sioux Falls

The South Dakota Chapter of Americans for Prosperity were nice enough to share some information and photos from the roundtable discussion they held this past week with Steve Moore, founder of the conservative organization "Club for Growth"

On Friday Wall Street Journal Editorial Board member and economist Steve Moore spoke at a roundtable and luncheon hosted by AFP in Sioux Falls . AFP is pleased with the success of the event and wants to thank everyone who attended. Over the course of 45 minutes Moore highlighted issues that affect all taxpayers’ pocketbooks.

Mr. Moore spoke to a full room of citizen activists about the importance free markets, smaller government, and restrained spending as the key to success for local, state, and federal government moving into the future. During his speech Moore highlighted out of control federal spending as the reason that Republicans lost the majority in both Congress and the US Senate during the last election.

The infamous “Bridge to Nowhere” in Alaska was sighted as a primary example of this excess. During the End to Earmarks Tour last year, AFP actively worked to raise public awareness last year regarding the problems congressional earmarks present in reigning in wasteful spending.

In Ketchikan , Alaska state highway officials have increased their estimate of the costs of the "Bridge to Nowhere" project by $67 million. The latest estimate is adjusted for future inflation and material costs and puts the entire cost at an astonishing $395 million. To reinforce this point, Moore indicated that it would have been cheaper to buy each resident a Lear jet on the island the “Bridge to Nowhere” connects to the mainland

Moore also said that danger is ahead is ahead for the Republican party if something is not done to restrain spending and begin limiting the role government plays in people’s lives. During the last election in November of 2006 voters were surveyed the night of the election and asked whether they preferred more government services and higher taxes or less government services and lower taxes. The results speak loud and clear. Six of ten voters prefer smaller government and lower taxes.

Moore pointed out that the same ethics and spending scandals that plagued the Democrats in 1994 were assumed by Republicans during the last several years. Democrats won the last election capitalizing on increased spending and scandals.

By pointing out the positive impact of Bush taxes cuts and the correlation of investor earnings on Wall Street , Moore did not spell gloom and doom for all of President Bush’s fiscal policies.

The upcoming presidential primary and tax reform are other important issues that Moore took time to highlight. Moore provided a major role in the creation of the Contract with America in 1994 when Republicans regained control of Congress.

Moore also trumpeted the necessity of maintaining a private healthcare system compared to a universal healthcare system. A question from an audience member regarding healthcare prompted Moore to highlight colon cancer survival rates at 75% in the US under a private healthcare system. That number is juxtaposed next to Canada and the United Kingdom who respectively have 46% and 48% survival rates for patients diagnosed with colon cancer with universal healthcare systems.

(Thanks for the photos, etcetera.) You can find more out about the South Dakota Chapter of AFP here.

And if anyone has politically related gathering stories and photos, don't hesitate to send them to me. Just drop me a note.