America Drowns while the Fire Burns and Leadership does Nothing

The fact that I am writing this blog and it deals with America's deficit is a sign of leadership failure within the Executive and Legislative branches of government. It is also an indication that our leadership has yet to figure out how to balance the checkbook. If they knew what they were doing our dependence on financial assistance from foreign countries would not be in the perpetual state it is. The truth be known, I have discovered something with less intelligence than life on the Red Planet. I have listened to Washington bureaucrats and liberal leaning commentators shrug off the national debt as if it were nothing to write home about. Our most esteemed leader, Obama himself, said "we don't have an urgent debt crisis. The only crisis we have is the one manufactured in Washington and it's ideological." Oh, really. I am now dumber for having listened to his absurd ideological statement about our economy not being in crisis. We have a spending problem in Washington. Our representatives have adopted a doctrine of idiocy when it comes to spending. I will attempt to clear the fog, fiscally speaking, on reasons why we are where we currently find ourselves.

Let me assure my readers that I indeed have some background in economics and finance. Limited as it may be, it is there. The study of economics and finance was initially my vocational goal.  That goal lasted one year. Following two semesters of economic theory and two accounting courses I changed majors. Unlike our President reality set in. I awoke from the dream realizing that persons other than yours truly, were probably better suited for managing other peoples money. If only our leaders would awake from their slumber and cease mismanaging our money. At least I awoke from the dream before it became a nightmare. I, unlike the President and some Congressional leaders, have learned through experience to manage money. Admittedly, some of what I learned was through the school of hard knocks. I learned to balance my checkbook following two bounced checks. I learned I could only write a check for what money was in my account, not the amount I thought was going to be there. If, I, a mere mortal, can learn to balance an account, why cannot the President and his Congressional elitist's balance a budget? The answer to that question is easy. It is a philosophy that has permeated Washington for too many years. "What's mine is mine, what's yours is negotiable," has become commonplace in Washington, especially, during the current administration's reign. They think they know what's best for you and me. They think for us. They make decisions for us. They know what is best for us.They spend our money on behalf of us. Why not wipe our butts for us. The ledger indicates Washington does little to help us but a lot to empty our bank accounts. Let me show the reader why we are swimming in a sea of red. The facts will speak for themselves. I will even suggest ways to rid our nation of frivolous spending and begin balancing a budget.

Obama's idea of debt reduction is to print more money, borrow more money, contribute monies to both domestic and international organizations, and provide foreign aid to nations who align themselves against United States interests on practically every UN vote. As always Obama's debt reduction plan  includes raising taxes with most of the burden being placed on the backs of middle-class America, who comprise the majority of those who actually pay taxes. Currently, only 50% of Americans pay taxes. The majority of the rest of America are freeloaders with little or no work ethic. Obama and his economic advisers are of the opinion that the more money printed, the more money borrowed and the more taxes collected, the better stimulated the economy. It has been said by someone more cleaver than I, "if you spend stimulus money at Wal-Mart, the money goes to China...If you spend money at the gas pump, your money goes to Arabs"...etc. Who's economy are we stimulating? Not ours.

Our leaders continue to finance their deficit spending with economically disastrous policies (remember shovel ready jobs), while narrowing the tax base to build an unbeatable coalition of voters who believe they will never have to pay for benefits/entitlements they're receiving. President Obama and his merry band of liberal elite crusaders have deeply divided the country between the few who must pay for government and the many who are dependent on it. Never before in our country's history have so many people been so dependent on the government. Approximately one in five Americans depend on the government for food stamps, retirement benefits, health care, job training and a host of other benefits or entitlements and the numbers grow daily. All this at a cost of $2.5 trillion a year, which is more than we collect in income taxes. And all this is before the implementation of Obamacare. The national debt is like a forest fire. The more fuel we add the more intense the heat, the bigger the flames. Adding Obamacare to the national debt is fuel to be added.  One consumes vegetation the other a nation's future prosperity. It's either put out the fire or perish in the flames.

My suggestion for debt reduction follows: eliminate our President's legacy program (Obamacare); eliminate welfare and replace it with workfare; the United Nations needs to go the way of the League of Nations; cease foreign aid to those countries who oppose our way of life; implement a flat or fair tax; quit forcing government agencies to purchase supplies/equipment from minority owned businesses (may I add, at a much higher cost); streamline government functions; abolish the IRS; Abolish the EPA; stop importing oil(we have more than enough to supply our own needs); cease rail subsidies (few people ride the rail anyway); stop giving commercial boosts to "clean energy technologies;" stop giving grants to the enrichment of the arts and the likes of; remove food stamp subsidies from the Farm Bill (which is 80% of the bill); no more "pork barreling" programs; finally, eliminate duplication of functions within the government. My recipe for reducing the debt was easy enough, but then I am of this world. If only Barry, Harry, and Nancy, who apparently are not of this world could come down to earth and see the wisdom in addressing our debt.

Our current administration's managing of America's economy is nothing less than criminal. Increasing U.S.debt is detrimental to its future. It weakens us both at home and abroad. Dave Ramsey, a national financial expert has stated what I believe is the path to America's financial stability. He states; "The fact is that the government can get out of debt the same way you get out of debt. You quit borrowing money. You quit spending. You balance the budget. But to do all that, you'll have to make some sacrifices." Just maybe, the Obama family can scale back their vacation itinerary and Biden can play a few less rounds of golf.

 If our leaders are to turn off the debt spigot they must first recognize there is a debt problem that will not go away by ignoring it. We as a nation, the Chief Executive and United States Congressional Representatives, as a whole, must tighten our and their fiscal belts if we are to survive the ravages of debt. If we fail at restraint, debt will surely drown us in a sea of red. Its either abandon ship or balance the budget.