And that rhymes with B for Bankruptcy: Ahoy Matey - Iceberg ahead. We must change course now.
Yes, the USS America is headed directly at the debt iceberg. That is the course the folks in DC have charted and it seems as if there is no stopping this reckless and irresponsible plunder of our country. Harsh assessment? You betcha, but it is clear to anyone who wants to look.
I have discussed this spending problem on numerous occasions. That doesn’t solve the problem - it just identifies it. Briefly, the problem is outrageous government spending on programs never intended to be federal programs (and an attendant massive bureaucracy who thinks they are our master) and ‘entitlement’ programs that are totally dysfunctional. So, what is the way forward and how do we change course toward a sunny shore?
It isn’t magic, it's plain ol’ horse sense.
Entitlements. Let’s dispense with the PBS (political bull s***) and really look at so-called ‘entitlements’. I know we have paid in money to Social Security and Medicare, but it isn't there for us, it has been spent - the so-called Trust fund is a collection of debts from our Treasury. And with current benefits paid out exceeding income, the trust funds built up in the past will soon be gone, which, under current law, will mean substantial benefit cuts if no action is taken. There is no asset there that is ‘ours' that we are ‘entitled’ to - these programs are simply done by law and can be changed by Congress any time. The demographics do not work as a result of life expectancy moving to around 80 years today from around 65 years in the 30’s when the first Social Security was passed. Today there are 2.6 workers for each retiree (there were over 15 workers per retiree as recently as the 1950’s). It needs to be fixed without cutting benefits for those receiving benefits today. It can be done and yes, there are tradeoffs, but reasonable ones that work. The programs are all going broke, poorly conceived, and very expensive, and collectively lose over $1 trillion per year. They must be touched, so stop listening to the PBS and fix them.
Decentralize government. The federal government was never intended to be all things to all people. It was to be limited in scope specifically because the Founding Fathers understood that too much power in a central government led to tyranny and loss of liberty. And that is what has evolved as we add Department after Department. Decentralizing the national government would mean moving back toward the original intent of our Founding Fathers when they wrote our brilliant Constitution. It specifically said what the Federal government’s responsibilities were, and all other activities were for the ‘States or the people’. It is time we cut many departments and the attendant bureaucracy and move these back to state/local governments or to the people, as spelled out in the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution.
BOTTOM LINE
Our country is in financial trouble, distress like we have never had before. ‘But we always find a way’ doesn’t work anymore with the level of spending and debt we are accumulating now and projected into the future by the CBO, a non-partisan government agency. Future generations will never be able to pay the debts we are accumulating. Shame on us if we leave this country a financial mess for them, we didn’t inherit that way and we should not leave it on the road to bankruptcy for our heirs. Our crazy spending and resultant deficits and debt demonstrates an irresponsible Congress. ‘We the people’ must insist that they change course and fix the mess, or we will elect someone who will. Do not let this country fail on our watch.
Sir Winston Churchill always quipped about Americans, that they always do the right thing once all other alternatives are exhausted. Fact: when all other alternatives are exhausted, there will be no right thing left to do. We will be bankrupt.
Ignoring this now just makes the problem worse until the s*** finally hits the fan, and our credit card stops working. It is time to act, all of us concerned citizens, one at a time, must speak up, speak out in any way you can. An easy way, go to our website and Contact Congress, it only takes 1 minute, enter name, and address and send. You can use our message or write your own. Collectively we can make a difference.
LEARN ECONOMICS, THEN VOTE SMART