Hard Truths for a Better America

from JoeUser Forums

America is in a crisis. I think that's one talking point that, conservative, liberal, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, or Green, we can all agree on.

Where we get stuck is on how to fix it.

WHY we get stuck, is another matter entirely. If you came up to me and told me your debt was spiralling out of control, my advice would center around either getting another job or cutting your expenses.

My advice for the government is no different. The skyrocketing national debt is NOT solely the fault of George W. Bush, nor, in fact, of the GOP. Nor is it solely the fault of the DNC. Granted, both sides have made decisions that have added to the equation, but they have often done so at the insistence of the national media, and, ostensibly, the American public, who see the federal kitty as a magic djinni to cure all ills within our borders. Need a six lane superhighway? Call the government. Need a cure for AIDS? Write your congressman. And the thing that we need to realize is, virtually ALL federal expenditures have been to "good causes" (sure, pork is there, but the vast majority of federal expenditures can reasonably be justified).

What we need to do, then, is look hard at the situation and determine the best course towards financial responsibility. Sure, cutting all foreign aid sounds appealing until we consider the political repurcussions of rogue third world nations with nothing to lose, attacking US citizens at home and abroad. Sure, shutting down all foreign military bases and seriously downsizing military sounds attractive until you have another terror attack to bring you back to reality.

The truth is, to get back on track, ALL of us are going to have to take cuts that hit us painfully and deeply. We didn't get into this mess overnight and we won't get out of it overnight.

The practical application of this truth is another matter entirely. As soon as you cut funding to the state Child Protective Services (an agency that needs to be done away with entirely, IMHO...but I digress), a local reporter will run a feature story on a child that died of abuse and call for radical action. As soon as you cut funding for the military, 60 minutes will run an expose on the political instability of a foreign country asking the question of why we weren't there to protect them. We are often expected by the media and the international community to be God, the tooth fairy and Santa Claus all rolled into one. While this is a noble goal, it is impractical in its application, and it is destroying this great nation.

Walt Kelley famously said "we have met the enemy and he is us". American fiscal policy is a glaring example of the truth of that statement. We seriously need to undergo a major overhaul in order to remain financially stable, but we are unwilling to do what it takes. And the majority of Americans are unwilling to turn a blind eye and ear to a sensationalist media that overblows every story it gets its hands on for the purpose of ratings.

Until we are willing to face these hard truths, though, we WILL NOT see changes. Fiscal responsibilty in this nation will come at a terrific cost, one way or another, and it is a cost I feel we should be willing to pay for the prosperity of future generations. For far too long, the debt burden has been shifted onto future generations. It's not fair, and, it is what it is, but we should be the generation to step up to the bat and pay our dues.

And teach our children how NOT to get into this mess again.

politics
5,910 views 18 replies
Reply #1 from JoeUser Forums Top
Agreed!!

The problem isn't identifying the problem, or even identifying the cause. The problem is we are all too emotional about our "cause celeb" for government dollars to even give an inch towards real reform.

I don't know if they still use it, but the Libertarian Party used to ask: "Would you give up your favorite government program, if it meant you never had to pay federal income taxes again." Apparently the answer was a resounding NO!
Reply #2 from JoeUser Forums Top
"The skyrocketing national debt is NOT solely the fault of George W. Bush, nor, in fact, of the GOP. Nor is it solely the fault of the DNC. Granted, both sides have made decisions that have added to the equation"
Of course there is no sole person or group to blame. But there is a group in power that has the ability to reverse the trend or do something to stop it. There is blame. The powers that be.
Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion
Reply #3 from JoeUser Forums Top
Gotta love those on the left who continually push the utopian 'nanny state' goverment ala Europe on us
Reply #4 from JoeUser Forums Top

Gotta love those on the left who continually push the utopian 'nanny state' goverment ala Europe on us

Unfortunately, our elected ones on the right are still financing them and thus the problem.

Reply #5 from JoeUser Forums Top
Am I the only one that sees this as just the same cyclical seasons we have always had, and that there is no "crisis"? Sorry, I spent too much time in History class to see what is going on now as earth-shattering.

I remember people making the same arguments during the the Carter years, the Reagan years, and again suring the Clinton years, and no one now seems traumatized by the horrific "crisis" of those times. We most certainly survived them without major overhaul. For the most part, the lifestyles of people who moped and feared during each of those administrations were essentually unchanged throughout each "crisis".

I'll be surprised in twenty years if anyone remembers the average anti-establishment talking points we have now. I know for a fact that the average American isn't going to accept "cuts" until they feel a tangible threat, instead of the same old political doomsaying we hear during each and every administration...
Reply #6 from JoeUser Forums Top
Am I the only one that sees this as just the same cyclical seasons we have always had,


No, but unlike history, conservatives have the 3 main branches and still cant get the shit done! And that is what is very agravating!
Reply #7 from JoeUser Forums Top
AGREED GID, now if we could just get one ranking democrat to propose some SOLUTIONS instead of doing what they do best, whine, cry and obstuct, we as americans can solve this fiscal crises.
Reply #8 from JoeUser Forums Top
Silly, there's a very simple solution. Run away. Hide. Turn up the t.v. a little bit louder. If you are safely distracted the problem doesn't exist, right? If all else fails, rally against the "bad guys" on the other side.

It works for the ostritches, and bread and circuses worked for the Romans.

yours truly,
nope-no-problems-here-special
Reply #9 from JoeUser Forums Top
" now if we could just get one ranking democrat to propose some SOLUTIONS instead of doing what they do best, whine, cry and obstuct"


You'd think they'd deny it, but Nancy Pelosi stood behind the podium a couple of weeks back and told the press that they had no plan for Social Security, and she didn't feel like they needed to have one. Their job was to block the President's plan. Obstructionist, and unapologetic.

"It works for the ostritches, and bread and circuses worked for the Romans."


Our heads aren't in the sand, though. We worry, we fret, we bitch aobut the government, we watch 24 hours news and we blog. If anything we are so interested that we convince ourselves that the average political/economic bullshit really means something, when this is just the same garbage that happens every so often.

People who deal with an imaginary crisis are far, far more dangerous than people who need more than skeery predictions to act. If you want to go and chant in the street with the Libs, fine, but just know that you're joining a crowd that does it perpetually; making predictions that never seem to come true.
Reply #10 from JoeUser Forums Top

Am I the only one that sees this as just the same cyclical seasons we have always had, and that there is no "crisis"? Sorry, I spent too much time in History class to see what is going on now as earth-shattering.

Thirty years ago, our national debt was a small fraction of what it is today. The national debt is fast exceeding our ability to pay, and, instead of trying to fix it, we're instituting a MINIMUM $600 billion in additional debt in this year's budget. When our per capita expenditures exceed the INCOME of many families ($8566 per man, woman and child in this country), there IS a crisis, and it DOES need to be fixed (although I am appalled at those who would lay the entire blame on Bush for the crisis).

The reason you don't SEE the crisis is the government continues to shift the burden onto FUTURE generations. Eventually, some generation's going to have to pay the bill.

At that point, America as we know it will cease to be. We need to effect meaningful reform NOW.

 

Reply #11 from JoeUser Forums Top
You'd think they'd deny it, but Nancy Pelosi stood behind the podium a couple of weeks back and told the press that they had no plan for Social Security, and she didn't feel like they needed to have one. Their job was to block the President's plan. Obstructionist, and unapologetic.


That's pretty interesting considering democrats have been scaring old people with social security for years. Now they say there is no problem. O
Reply #12 from JoeUser Forums Top

That's pretty interesting considering democrats have been scaring old people with social security for years. Now they say there is no problem.

That is because you forgot rule #2 of Liberals: "What I said yesterday cannot be used against me today, because today is not yesterday."

Reply #13 from JoeUser Forums Top
Stop looking at the numbers like that. You’re just scared because you see the word trillion. The debt, right now, is about equivalent (by the % of the GDP) to the early 90s level, or the end of the 50s or even early 40s. The truth is that it’s just not the time to be running surpluses when you had planes crashing in your buildings and when you just came out of a recession and when you just blew up a country and when you’re occupying another one with 140k+ troops abroad...

You should read these common myths about the debt : Link
Reply #14 from JoeUser Forums Top

From the link (at bottom). This is precisely my point. We DO need to look at the numbers like that; the annual BUDGET equals out to $8566 per man, woman, and child in the United States, the national debt is more than twice that. While the government CAN tax us until we're paying 95% of our wages, the point is, we're overtaxed ALREADY. We can't go on increasing the tax burden in this country when so many Americans are working hard just to survive.

We HAVE to fix this problem before it destroys us.

Myth #1: The National Debt will cause the United States to go bankrupt

Reality: The U.S. is not like you or me. The U.S. government has the power to tax the largest economy in the world, the power to print money and has an infinite life expectancy. All of these factors mean the federal government can incur large amounts of debt. .
Reply #15 from JoeUser Forums Top
"t that point, America as we know it will cease to be. We need to effect meaningful reform NOW."


Good lord, you think someone is gonna foreclose? The debt varies. of course it is going to appear bigger over time because the currency is always going to lose value over time, that's life. This is the same thing I heard when Reagan leaned heavily on the national debt, and somehow we've all survived. Kennedy expanded on the debt specifically to promote prosperity. Your "all debt is bad" perspective just doesn't ring true historically.

You've been reading too much of the Col, lately, Gid. Believe what you like, it just stinks to see people worrying like this, knowing that the same people who worried about it under Reagan STILL are, and that in 20 years you probably will still be worrying too.

After a while it effects people, I think. Given it never seems to amount to anything, it seems like wasted effect.
Reply #16 from JoeUser Forums Top
You've been reading too much of the Col, lately, Gid.


I expected better from you, baker. You could at least give me credit for thinking for myself, as I've blogged on the subject of fiscal responsibility since before Col Gene posted his first post here.

While the Col. and I agree on the debt situation, it's there that the agreement ends. He believes it should be solved by higher taxes and more programs; I believe it should be solved by fiscal responsibility.

In reality, the problem probably isn't as much with the numbers we have currently as it is with the fact that most people I have spoken with want MORE. MORE government programs, MORE waste, when we simply cannot afford it.

I remain firm in my contention, though, that there is much we can, and should, cut, as the government is almost NEVER the most efficient source in its expenditures. There's a lot of room to cut, and we SHOULD be concerned about the numbers, because they give us a REASON to cut.
Reply #17 from JoeUser Forums Top
I do give you more credit, Gid, a lot more. I always see you as someone who believes in personal responsibility, and someone who downplays the importance of the government in our lives. Listening to you on this subject makes it seem as if you suddenly think that unless we have a streamlined, well-oiled Federal government, we're all doooooomed.

Come on. How often have we heard these arguements? How often have you heard them under other administrations? How often have we heard "Unless the budget (gets passed/gets balanced) Washington will close down!" IN the end it is always some play to get some rider that has little or nothing to do with the budget passed. Or some billion dollar pork deal sent back to Uncle Ted's constituants.

I don't mean to not give you credit, but this isn't the "you" I am accustomed to. The Gid I know would emphasize that our kids and grandkids will make their own way, and that government involvement will generally just make things worse, regardless of the national debt.
Reply #18 from JoeUser Forums Top

I don't mean to not give you credit, but this isn't the "you" I am accustomed to. The Gid I know would emphasize that our kids and grandkids will make their own way, and that government involvement will generally just make things worse, regardless of the national debt.

Yes, and I hold to that. However, the smaller government argument has limited appeal; sadly, most people WANT a government that intrudes, so long as it intrudes on everyone ELSE'S lives, not their own. I feel that victory in accomplishing smaller government is depended on a multifaceted approach that states there are MANY factors to consider in considering both a) cutting taxes and b) cutting spending.

I don't like to sound "doom and gloom", but the fact is, a high national debt will always be a catalyst for requests for higher taxation. There are several thousand reasons why we need to make changes, and make them soon.