When I read about the President’s $3.9 trillion 2011 budget, my heart sunk. It sounds corny, but having immersed myself of late in the fiscal sickness of our government, the breathtaking size of this new beast struck my senses like a tragic lightning bolt.
Even if Washington were to suddenly grow up and start showing leadership, we may well be past the point of no return and on the road to an historic meltdown in our government, in our economy, and in our way of life. And, this catastrophe won’t be the product of an outside army, of disease or famine, or the work of illegal immigrants. Rather, it will be a disaster of our own making.
“We have met the enemy, and he is us,” said Pogo.
The other day, when Congress quietly authorized the Treasury to place another $1.9 trillion on our nation’s credit card, it set the stage to increase debt on our books to nearly $15 trillion. That means this year, Washington will borrow 40 cents of every dollar it spends.
But, that’s not the whole story. Right behind the debt owed Chinese and Saudi bondholders is another $50-100 trillion (depending on how long you want to forecast) in obligations to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.
In the greatest “ponzi scheme” of all time, Washington already spent the money they promised to keep in “trust funds” and “lock boxes.” Our government has no money in the bank, is shrinking the tax base, has a sick economy and has no provisions to meet these obligations.
If our leaders were running a household or small business, and they faced this kind of clear and present danger, what might they do? They might cut spending dramatically. They might take radical measures to spur increased income or sales (economic growth). They might retool programs and systems, and try to increase productivity. Not Washington.
Instead, the President’s budget is full of headlines, like “Increase education spending by over 32 percent.” “Increase energy program spending by 9.2 percent,” the headlines read, and “increase spending for the Justice Department, Transportation, Defense, NASA.” In the so-called “agriculture” budget, he proposes to increase spending by nearly 10 percent to $148.6 billion! And, of course, most of that is for nutrition programs, not farmers.
Watching the country I love commit suicide breaks my heart. That’s why I’m running for Congress. Each day, as the headlines hit my senses, my sense of urgency grows.
When I read about the President’s $3.9 trillion 2011 budget, my heart sunk. It sounds corny, but having immersed myself of late in the fiscal sickness of our government, the breathtaking size of this new beast struck my senses like a tragic lightning bolt.
Even if Washington were to suddenly grow up and start showing leadership, we may well be past the point of no return and on the road to an historic meltdown in our government, in our economy, and in our way of life. And, this catastrophe won’t be the product of an outside army, of disease or famine, or the work of illegal immigrants. Rather, it will be a disaster of our own making.
“We have met the enemy, and he is us,” said Pogo.
The other day, when Congress quietly authorized the Treasury to place another $1.9 trillion on our nation’s credit card, it set the stage to increase debt on our books to nearly $15 trillion. That means this year, Washington will borrow 40 cents of every dollar it spends.
But, that’s not the whole story. Right behind the debt owed Chinese and Saudi bondholders is another $50-100 trillion (depending on how long you want to forecast) in obligations to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.
In the greatest “ponzi scheme” of all time, Washington already spent the money they promised to keep in “trust funds” and “lock boxes.” Our government has no money in the bank, is shrinking the tax base, has a sick economy and has no provisions to meet these obligations.
If our leaders were running a household or small business, and they faced this kind of clear and present danger, what might they do? They might cut spending dramatically. They might take radical measures to spur increased income or sales (economic growth). They might retool programs and systems, and try to increase productivity. Not Washington.
Instead, the President’s budget is full of headlines, like “Increase education spending by over 32 percent.” “Increase energy program spending by 9.2 percent,” the headlines read, and “increase spending for the Justice Department, Transportation, Defense, NASA.” In the so-called “agriculture” budget, he proposes to increase spending by nearly 10 percent to $148.6 billion! And, of course, most of that is for nutrition programs, not farmers.
Watching the country I love commit suicide breaks my heart. That’s why I’m running for Congress. Each day, as the headlines hit my senses, my sense of urgency grows.
