Our American heritage is noble, inspired, a source of pride for Americans throughout our history. Our system of government is the model for others around the world because it is so good at preserving the liberty we hold in such high esteem. The Founding Fathers created a masterpiece. Leaving aside the obvious flaws that were corrected in the 1860s, we have done quite well as a nation.
So well, in fact, that many people mistakenly assume that we must always be successful, that we will always be a great nation no matter what we do. That is wrong. Our future greatness and prosperity are not guaranteed. There is no law written in Heaven that says the United States of America will always be a superpower and a beacon of freedom in a troubled world. No. What becomes of America depends upon what Americans do. Do right, and good things will continue to happen. Abandon our principles or our responsibilities, and we may join the rest of those troubled nations as just one more.
Our troubles today stem from many problems, including intolerance, political correctness, overseas adventurism, arrogance, a two-party system which has placed loyalty to the party higher than loyalty to the country (and which is not a part of our constitution, by the way). But the issue in evidence today is financial irresponsibility.
“We didn't actually overspend our budget. The allocation simply fell short of our expenditure.”
(Keith Davis)
Many people think spending by the government is not such an important issue. They think the government has bank vaults full of money and the main issue is deciding what to spend it on. Wrong. The government has no money other than what it collects from the people in the form of taxes. Every dollar the government spends comes from some American person, usually in the form of taxes on personal or business income or property. When the government spends, the government is spending money earned by real individual people.
Now think about this. In less than 30 years the United States has gone from the world’s greatest creditor nation to the world’s greatest debtor nation. That means we used to have so much money that we were able to lend it to others, but now we do not have enough to cover the spending of our own government.
How did we get in this situation? Did our total national income go down? No, it did not. We have simply spent more than we have taken in, consistently, year after year. Even our huge economy, the world’s largest, has not generated enough money for our insatiable government budget. Congress approves spending plans, appropriates funds, without any sense of where the money will come from. Congress is spending us into bankruptcy.
For those who fail to see the urgency, bankruptcy is a serious matter. National bankruptcy would spell the end of most of our prosperity and many of our freedoms. If we do not regain our fiscal sense, we risk (1) default and economic collapse, with danger of tyranny, (2) war and economic collapse, with danger of tyranny, or (3) nationalization of private assets to preserve a semblance of solvency, with the accompanying loss of rights.
“A government can’t control the economy without controlling people… When a government sets out to do that, it must use force and coercion to achieve its purpose. So we have come to a time for choosing.”
(Ronald Reagan)
Like most individuals and families with debt problems, the root cause is not a lack of income, but too much out-go. Fact: families which experience a large and sudden increase in income frequently find themselves in financial trouble soon after due to great increases in spending. Fact: a large number of lottery winners declare bankruptcy within a few years due to overspending. In most cases, a family or individual with debt troubles would be better advised to manage their spending than to seek more income.
The federal government runs deficits not because of too little income. The federal government runs deficits because of too much out-go. Unless spending by Congress is controlled, no amount of “revenue enhancement” (that’s a euphemism for tax increases) will balance the budget.
This is not only the fault of the political left with their entitlement programs, nor of the political right, with their military spending. This is the fault of the entire federal government. Politicians from all political persuasions continue to authorize deficit spending.
"The budget is like a mythical bean bag. Congress votes mythical beans into it, then reaches in and tries to pull real ones out."
(Will Rodgers)
Question: When the U.S. government spends more than it takes in, where does the extra money come from? Answer: It is borrowed. A large percentage is borrowed from foreign sources. A basic fact to remember: What is borrowed must be repaid. The question is, when will we repay what we are borrowing? No one knows. Very few people, politician or ordinary citizen, even think about repayment.
One of the scarier observations I have made recently about federal spending is that even the more fiscally responsible persons talk only about “reducing the deficit.” Almost no one talks about “eliminating the deficit.” They should. A balanced budget, in which the government is able to pay all its bills without borrowing more money, means no deficit.
Here’s an even scarier thought. When is the last time you heard anyone talk about reducing not the deficit, but the national debt? The deficit is our financial shortfall this year. The national debt is the accumulated balance due from all past years and generations. The last time the national debt was paid in full, Andrew Jackson was president. (That’s the 1830s for those of you who should have paid more attention in History class.)
The current national debt is approaching $14 trillion. That is nearly $45,000 per U.S. citizen. $45,000 for every single man, woman, and child in the United States. $180,000 for a typical family of four. How would your family pay their debt, if called upon to do so?
"There is no such thing as government money - only taxpayer money."
(William Weld)
The national debt is growing larger and larger, faster and faster. Meanwhile, politicians continue to advocate more spending on health care programs, military actions and aid, grants of all kinds, entitlement programs, “stimulus” programs, unconstitutional federal involvement in education, and more. For a very compelling visual demonstration of the U.S. national debt and how it is growing, see www.usdebtclock.org.
In addition to rampant spending by Congress on a host of programs, undertakings, entitlements, and other “good ideas,” the government itself continues to grow larger and larger. As an example, President Washington’s Executive Branch of government included three federal departments (State, Treasury, and War). Today’s Executive Branch includes 15 Cabinet-level Department and 7 additional cabinet-level agencies. The larger government continues to consume larger and larger portions of our national income.
"A billion here, a billion there—sooner or later it adds up to real money."
(Senator Everett Dirksen)
I suppose, at the end of this treatise about out of control government spending, that I should explain the title. This entire outflow of frustration was inspired by an item in today’s news. In recent days, Democrats in Congress have spoken out strongly against extending tax cuts to wealthy Americans, arguing that to do so would increase the deficit. (Both sides had already agreed to extend tax cuts for low and middle income Americans.) At the same time, Republicans in Congress have spoken out strongly against extending unemployment benefits for those who have lost their jobs due to the recession, arguing that to do so would increase the deficit. (Unemployment benefits had been extended previously.) Both sides seemed to be saying that the deficit should be decreased, but that increasing the deficit for tax cuts (R) or unemployment benefits (D) was still a good idea. Despite the similar-sounding arguments, the two sides were at an impasse. Well, no more. They reached a compromise. The Democrats agreed to go along with the extension of tax cuts for the wealthy, if the Republicans would go along with an extension of unemployment benefits. They agreed. While talking about cutting the deficit, both sides came to the dubious conclusion that the most workable solution is… to increase deficit spending.
This solution was disingenuous, politically opportunistic, and demonstrated either ignorance or moral cowardice. We are deceiving ourselves if we think this kind of irresponsible government is going to continue to work.
We have a great country. Our system is working, still. But we must learn fiscal responsibility fast, and demand it of our leadership now, or we will risk the loss not only of prosperity but of our freedom.
Gryphem
“We could say they [Congress] spend money like drunken sailors, but that would be unfair to drunken sailors… because the sailors are spending their own money.”
(Ronald Reagan)
