A vast majority of American voters say they think government spending is out of control -- and nearly six in 10 say they do not trust the federal government, up a striking 23 points since 2002.

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Nearly eight in 10 American voters (78 percent) say they think government spending is out of control, while 14 percent say it is being managed carefully. The poll also finds 59 percent of voters say they do not trust the federal government, an increase of 5 percentage points from a year ago, and up a striking 23 points since 2002.

A Fox News poll released Friday shows the number of voters who say they believe government spending is out of control increased 16 points, up from 62 percent in April 2009 to 78 percent now. A sizable majority of Democrats (61 percent) call current spending out of control, as do virtually all Republicans (95 percent) and most independents (82 percent).

In addition, 81 percent of voters say they are fed up with the growing federal deficit, and 73 percent say they're tired and fed up with government spending.

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The U.S. Congress lacks fiscal responsibility and is spending all of us into serious debt. Article V of the U.S. Constitution gives the states the authority and the responsibility to apply to Congress for a constitutional convention to propose amendments to the Constitution. It is time for Texas to lead the way and seek a convention so that the states may propose a national balanced budget amendment.

01:05 AM CST on Sunday, January 17, 2010

By JIM LANDERS Washington bureau jlanders@dallasnews.com

WASHINGTON – When the ink on the federal balance sheet is red all over, somewhere a Texan is sounding the alarm.

Last year's deficit was $1.4 trillion. The national debt soared past $12 trillion.

San Marcos obstetrician Alan Parks says the nation's "house is burning down." Parks is president of Americans for a Balanced Budget Amendment, a small organization with a big cause that not long ago dominated American economic and political debate.

It's been a slog.

The 34 names are familiar to anyone who has followed economic policy in Washington for the past generation, one-third of them former chairmen or members of key committees of Congress, seven of them former directors of the White House Office of Management and Budget, two of them former comptroller generals of the United States, seven of them former directors of the Congressional Budget Office, and one of them -- Paul Volcker -- a former chairman of the Federal Reserve System and now an adviser to President Obama.