Evaluation: Rick Santorum

Cons

• Page Not Found for his energy issues link
• He wants to eliminate energy subsidies. This is good if it were for oil, but renewable and alternative energy need subsidies to further innovate and become efficient and cheaper so that they can compete with oil. Once they can do this with a high profit margin, then drop these subsidies.
• He wants to eliminate farm subsidies. Countless small farms across the U.S. depend on these subsidies to even stay in business. Selling corn, grain, etc. would not be enough for several farmers to stay in business. This is an essential part to the welfare of the American agricultural system and we cannot afford to cut these subsidies. 

Pros

• He wants to require businesses to use the E-verify government computer check system to ensure job applicants are legal. This prevents illegals from stealing jobs from honest Americans.
• He opposes amnesty.
• He wants to freeze defense spending for 5 years. This is a good idea because we can no longer afford to raise it like we have been yearly, but neither can we really afford to lower it. What we can do is eliminate billions in wasteful spending and impose stricter oversight of defense spending and contribute the extra money to veteran programs.
• He wants to pass a Balanced Budget Amendment that would cap government spending annually at 18% of GDP. This is good because it ensures that the government will not spend over a certain amount to put us further into debt. This is a regulation put into place for the growing debt that needs to be controlled.
• He would sell unproductive and wasteful government properties. That money can be put towards the budget so the government would not have to borrow as much money. There are plenty of wasteful properties the government maintains just as a presence, but does less than the money that is being put into it (excluding national parks, monuments, etc).
• He wants to increase the research and development tax credit. This is great for innovation because it promotes it by lowering the cost companies have to pay to come up with new technologies.
• He wants to negotiate at least 5 free trade agreements which would be great for the American economy. That means traded goods that are being imported would cost less to consumers and the goods being exported would cost less which would make American goods more competitive oversees.