Dear TCS Community:

As we reflect on another year of advocacy for fiscal responsibility, I thought it fitting to share our work with a twist on a holiday classic.

’Twas the Night Before Budget Sanity

’Twas the night before Christmas, when all through D.C.,
Not a watchdog was sleeping, especially not we.
The budgets were hung by the Capitol with care,
In hopes that some discipline soon would be there.

The taxpayers nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of savings danced in their heads.
And we at TCS, with spreadsheets in tow,
Had just begun scouring where tax dollars flow.

When out on the Hill, there arose such a clatter,
We sprang from our desks to see what was the matter.
Away to the records, we flew like a flash,
To analyze deficits and unchecked cash.

The moon on the spreadsheets, so neatly aligned,
Gave the luster of truth to the numbers we’d find.
When what to our wondering eyes did appear,
But two trillion deficits in a single fiscal year.

With a small but fierce team, so lively and quick,
We knew in a moment, this problem must stick.
More rapid than CRs, our solutions they came,
And we whistled and shouted and called them by name:

“Now Floods! Now Farm Bills! Now Pentagon waste!
On Methane! On Bonding! No dollars misplaced!
To reform every program, no matter the flaw,
Let’s rally together to strengthen the law!”

Like tax credits flying from unproven schemes,
We highlighted risks to taxpayer dreams.
So onto the Hill, our arguments flew,
With policies, podcasts, and reports too.

And then in a twinkling, we made it quite clear:
Transparency matters! Reform’s needed here!
From energy to defense, agriculture to waste,
We called for reform with fiscal good taste.

We spoke of Farm Bills bloated and flawed,
Of outdated subsidies we’ve long decried and clawed.
Of methane reforms that cut harmful waste,
And Pentagon spending in desperate need of haste.

Disasters, we argued, demand smarter prevention,
To spare taxpayers billions and undue contention.
Our wildfire report, with its roadmap so clear,
Showed how mitigation can save billions each year.

We sprang to the airwaves, our podcasts took flight,
With insights and truths for the taxpayers’ fight.
And we exclaimed, as we signed off for the year,
“Thank you for standing with TCS, my dear!”

Your unwavering support keeps us steady and strong,
As we push for reforms and right every wrong.
Together, we’ll build a fiscally sound nation,
One driven by trust and wise legislation.

Warm wishes to you and yours this holiday season.

Stephen Ellis
President

P.S. Your support is the gift that keeps on giving—help us continue the fight for fiscal responsibility! Donate today!