Thursday, July 31, 2008

Buy now, pay later.



I am getting thoroughly disgusted with the volume of stupidity that is coming out of our state and national capitals. Our elected officials put a small, feel-good fix on whatever crisis is currently grabbing the headlines and then leave the underlying problem for future generations to deal with. Our nation is being overrun by this mentality, with the Mortgage Bailout bill being only the latest example to point to. With lots of wind-sock leadership from our congress and the aquiescence of a lame-duck president, our national debt increased $800 billion with the stroke of a pen yesterday. Instead of letting people and industries suffer the consequences of their bad decisions, we rescue them and pass the bill down to future generations. (The latest calculation on your personal liability for our national debt - over $30,000 for every man, woman, and child in the country) What is really beyond belief, is that these elected officials think that this solves the problem! Honestly - if industry leaders know that Uncle Sam is going to pick them up every time they fall, what possible motivation could they have to change their ways?

In our own state a group of spineless legislators and a spendthrift governor have just saddled us with a mountain of unconstitutional debt. The borrowing and accounting gimmicks they used to "balance" the budget this year are the equivalent of placing a band-aid on a full-limb amputation. And, just like that band-aid won't stop the bleeding, using funny math will not get us out of the mess we are in. It just delays the inevitable.

We have real problems in this country with out of control spending. President Reagan said it best during his first innaugural speech on January 20, 1981:

" For decades, we have piled deficit upon deficit, mortgaging our future and our children's future for the temporary convenience of the present. To continue this long trend is to guarantee tremendous social, cultural, political, and economic upheavals.
You and I, as individuals, can, by borrowing, live beyond our means, but for only a limited period of time. Why, then, should we think that collectively, as a nation, we are not bound by that same limitation?"


Amen Mr. President!

1 comment:

Armed Citizen said...

Amen my brother, that is why there is a movement to take back this country and turn the government back over to the people. But it only keeps rolling forward with people opening their mouths and demanding more(which is less) I have seen a few(this will increase) really spot on senators and congressmen step up and start talking and acting like the constitution requires. but it takes us, the people to keep up the pressure around us to add to their ranks.

Great post Paul!

P.S. Turn off moderation already. Have you really had any problems. You know you can remove any comment you dont like anyway. Just a thought. I am so impatient.