When I make speeches about fiscal policy, I oftentimes share a table showing the many nations that have made big progress by enforcing spending restraint over multi-year periods.

I then ask audiences a rhetorical question about a possible list of nations that have prospered by going in the opposite direction.Are there any success stories based on tax hikes or bigger government?

Chris Christie joins the Republican field for president with an announcement at his former high school. Christie, the current governor of New Jersey, has worked to improve New Jersey’s fiscal situation. Christie earned a respectable grade of “B” on both the 2012 and2014 Cato’s Fiscal Policy Report Cards, partly due to his repeated vetoes of the legislature’s tax increases.

Greece is expected to default on its government debts tomorrow as its bailout package from the European Union (EU) expires. The country will also hold a referendum on Friday on whether to accept the latest round of terms from its EU funders. Greece continues to grab all the headlines, but there is another government closer to home that is in a similar situation: Puerto Rico. Over the weekend, the governor of the island announced that Puerto Rico is unable to repay its $70 billion in debt.

Federal debt is piling up and spending is expected to soar in coming years. Projections show rivers of red ink unless federal policymakers enact reforms. They should cut spending in every department. A great place to start would be cutting aid-to-state programs, which cost more than $600 billion a year.

Bobby Jindal, Governor of Louisiana, will officially announce his run for the White House this afternoon, joining the ever-growing Republican field. Jindal hopes his experience cutting state spending and shrinking the state’s workforce will help propel him to the presidency. However, like the other governors whose records we have highlighted, Jindal’s fiscal record is not without faults.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) spends $60 billion a year providing health care benefits to service veterans. Its mismanagement is well-known and widespread. A recent letter provided to the Washington Post and Congress suggests that as much as 10 percent of the VA’s annual spending is in violation of federal contracting rules, representing billions of taxpayer dollars.

I testified to the House Budget Committee yesterday on the history of federal debt and reasons to balance the budget. John Taylor, Jared Bernstein, and Ryan Silvey also testified.

The federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program provides income to low-income, disabled individuals, including children. In 2014, SSI paid benefits totaling $56 billion to 8 million people. A new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report suggests that a substantial share of that money was spent improperly.

Environmentalists often assume that free markets work against their goals. But the market is the best friend of the natural world because it generates constant pressure to innovate, to cut costs, and to use resources efficiently. The price system prompts consumers and businesses to minimize consumption of dwindling resources. To ease California’s water problems, for example, we need markets not regulatory controls.

Rick Perry, former governor of Texas, will announce his second White House run. Perry served as Texas governor from December 2000, following the election of George W. Bush, until January of this year. During his long tenure, Perry showed reasonable fiscal restraint. Perry did not shrink the size of Texas’ government, but he limited its growth both in terms of spending and tax revenue.