It takes years and years to make a mess as terrible as the California debacle, but the recipe is simple. All that you need is two political parties that are always willing to offer easy government solutions for every need of the voters, but never willing to make the tough decisions necessary to finance the government largess that results. Voters will occasionally change their allegiance from one party to the other, but the bacchanal will continue regardless of the names on the office doors.We need to pay for what we get and that means either reducing what we get or paying more. Tax cuts are always the rage with the Republicans even when the deficit is being paid with these.
California has engaged in an orgy of spending, but, compared with our federal government, its legislators should feel chaste. The California deficit this year is now north of $26 billion. The U.S. federal deficit will be, according to the latest numbers, almost 70 times larger.
All God's children need to start paying more and pay until the deficit is gone and the debt is being paid off. We'll all feel lots and lots of pain, but it's the only way the growth of the government will stop. It's also the right thing to do. Skipping out on the tab and leaving it for our kids is fundamentally immoral.
I suggest cutting spending before we start paying off the deficit....
ReplyDeleteMostly because I don't believe politicians are *ABLE* to do so, and if we can kick them out until we find some who are able, we might get something done.
Here's an idea! How about SELLING SOME FEDERAL AND STATE LAND?
KT, I understand your point. However, part of my fanatical devotion to tax cuts is admittedly reactionary in nature. When the "other side" is fanatically devoted to raising taxes, the only recourse it seems is hit back with equal or greater force against it.
ReplyDeleteI'll send you my IOU as soon as I get done with my government-mandated diversity training (it's being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Differently-Gendered Sensitivity Awareness Studies, a recently created division of the Department of Caring). After that I'll have some time to figure out why we're spending so darned much.
ReplyDeleteI'm with KT: the republicans who won't shut up about tax cuts are just as big of a problem as the democrats who won't stop clamoring to spend more money. Either way, we end up spending money we haven't got.
ReplyDeleteI'm also with George Washington: political parties may be inevitable and may be useful tools from time to time, but we need to resist the tendency of people to put the interests of their party before the good of the nation as a whole. Running up the debt is a Bad Thing For The Nation, I don't care if the person proposing it is a democrat or a republican. Likewise, there are people in both parties who are in favor of *not* spending money we don't have - we need to find these people and encourage them, regardless of whether they are in the "wrong party" or not.
I think the guy urging to use a buzz-saw to chop off my hand is a great deal worse than the one waving a knife around, myself.
ReplyDeleteJust because someone isn't super good doesn't mean we should lump them with the folks who are flat out horrible.
Kinda like how sex outside of marriage is a bad idea, but doing so and routinely drowning your toddlers is worse.
Wow, thanks for the very thoughtful comments!
ReplyDeleteMy point is this: we're living in a culture that doesn't want to pay in any form for its pleasures. Whether that's sex without the commitment of marriage or it's social programs without taxes. The Republicans don't get a pass on this one because they're not publicly making the connection between personal reponsiblity and success. That is, they're all still in favor of Medicare and Social Security and Welfare, they just don't want to pay for it.
In the end, it's all part of the same thing. One of the reasons I liked Sarah Palin so much compared to the rest was that she had actually lived in the world where you have to pay for what you get.
Robert Samuelson, who has heavily influenced my thinking on this matter, recently wrote a terrific piece on this subject. Check it out.
ReplyDeleteFoxfier:
ReplyDeleteWell, in this case, while trying in horror to avoid the guy with the buzz-saw, I'm keenly aware of the deep gouges in the forearm inflicted earlier by the guy with the knife. And I'm certainly not going to expect the knife-wielder to actually do anything to let me *keep* the hand . . .
Sorry KT. The debt rocket has reached escape velocity. It is impossible to pay back. It will be defaulted. The question is how.
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