Last week, Congress and the administration refused to seriously consider the problem of government spending. Despite the fear-mongering, a government shutdown would not have been as bad as claimed.
It is encouraging that some in Washington seem to be insisting on reduced spending, which is definitely a step in the right direction, but only one step. We have miles to go before we can even come close to a solution, and it will involve completely redefining the role of government in our lives and on the world stage. A compromise was struck at the last minute, but until Democrats agree to rein in entitlement spending, and Republicans back off the blank checks to the military industrial complex, it all amounts to political gamesmanship.
Unfortunately, the compromises always seem to be just the opposite. Instead of the left agreeing to cut social spending and the right agreeing to cut military spending, the right agrees to more welfare and the left agrees to more warfare. In spite of all the rhetoric, we will go deeper in debt, the Fed will print more money, and the value of the dollar will continue to plummet. How long will it be before foreigners stop buying our debt, and hyperinflation arrives? Throughout history, empires have always overextended themselves through conquests and wealth transfers leading to eventual collapse, from the Roman Empire to the Soviet Union. We are headed in the same direction and it seems only the chaos of the collapse of the dollar will stop the spending spree. Arguing over funding for Planned Parenthood and NPR, though important, only shows that leadership in Washington either won’t face reality, or don’t understand how serious the problem is.
Of course, an actual government collapse would create serious problems for many people who have come to depend on government payments for healthcare, retirement income, their children’s education, and even food and housing. However, these so-called entitlement programs are unconstitutional to begin with and have engendered a culture of dependence on wealth transfer payments that is out of control. It concerns me greatly that instead of dealing seriously with our situation, so many in Washington would rather allow the chaos that will ensue when all of the dependent people are suddenly cut off. Better to look reality squarely in the face and tell people the difficult truth that government is simply not capable of managing people’s lives from cradle to grave as was foolishly promised. We face trillions in deficits with any of the budgets under consideration. Keeping those promises is, sadly, just not one of our options in the long run. Better to admit the nanny state is coming to an end and we are no longer working on “compromises” but a transition — to a sustainable way of life, one that respects the constitution, the rule of law and property rights.
Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works license.
Video published by this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Sampling+ license.
Bad Behavior has blocked 2374 access attempts in the last 7 days.
Facebook
Digg
del.icio.us
reddit.com
Newsvine
Bryan Price
Apr 11, 2011
Neither side can agree to straight cuts on everything, which is what absolutely needs to be done. Untouchable because of priorities is a laugh. We don’t need to be spending that much, period. Revenues need to increase as well. I’m not impressed by the argument that reducing taxes increases revenues, and I do understand that raising taxes at some point will reduce revenues, but looking at the historical data, we’re not there yet, and taxes need to go up.
CabotAR
Apr 18, 2011
“…taxes need to go up”? Are you still living with your parents? I ask because it’s clear you are not paying property tax. So no, taxes don’t need to go up…bureaucracy & govt. expenditures need to go down. Or, you are part of the 50% that don’t pay taxes while I am in the group of 50% that does pay taxes for the other half.
Politicians/bureaucrats got us into this mess, to give them outlandish salaries & now they want us to pay taxes to maintain their lifestyle. I don’t think so.
Rosco1776
Jun 06, 2011
Government needs to be reduced severely and all money going to other countries has to stop. It is going to be painful but if we don’t do it now it will be more painful down the road. If you ever looked at all the waste in government you would know that taxes going up will only make them spend more.
Ron Paul 2012!!
Public Citizen
Jun 11, 2011
The only reason the pretty green pieces of paper are accepted as money is because it is “backed by the full faith and credit of the United States”.
You have a generation poised to retire that has had a substantial portion of their income taken – with the implied threat of heavy fines and imprisonment for non-cooperation – for a “Social Security” program.
If the government defaults on the promise to pay made to that generation then the pretty pieces of paper will no longer be accepted by the world as a substitute for real money as the politicos will have given a concrete demonstration of the value of the above quoted warranty. The politicians have painted themselves into a corner and the paint won’t dry.
The gravy train is coming into the station and the freeloaders and moochers will have to be kicked off first. Next off needs to be the army of overpaid bureaucrats who produce nothing but volumes of productivity destroying regulations. All civil service benefits need to be rolled into the Social Security System and all benefits equalized based on this pool.
Congress and their staffs will have to accept that their own pay and benefits are subjected to the same restructuring, no more everybody except me and thee deals.
We need to close the majority of our overseas bases and bring those forces home. Our being the police force and military for the rest of the world is no longer a price we can bear.
We need to eliminate several cabinet level departments and implement one new one whose gets no budget but must be funded from a percentage of the cuts that it recommends from the waste and excess in all other departments.
This is the path away from default. The way is narrow and a mis-step may lead to disaster. Successfully negotiated, we will emerge even stronger than before.
On the path to Galt’s Gulch