Issue 203 Spending what we don't have November 11, 2013

Yes, we are spending money we don't have. Whose money you ask? The tax payers’ money of course. But why and how are doing this?

Borrowing: The federal government continues to borrow hand over fist from other countries. So much so that it adds at least another trillion dollars per year onto our national debt. This is more than what the Bush administration added in its entire eight years in service to the country. Do not get me wrong, President Obama is trying to help the American people, but I believe he is doing it the wrong way. Especially as he is just adding onto the national debt which our future generations will have to deal with. That means my nieces and nephews; your children and even their own children will be left with a multi-trillion dollar debt burden.

Why do we borrow?: Unfortunately, the leadership of both parties wants to use that money for their own gain. 17% of the federal budget is considered pork barrel spending. That means it is wasteful and unneeded spending that can be done by the State and local governments or the private sector. Borrowed money is also used to pay for unfunded mandates. These are spending that have yet to occur because the federal government had run out of money for that year to pay for it. So once the money is freed up from other areas of the federal government, the project or spending will be paid for. Although, there is a problem with this. The project or need for that money may disappear by the time money is available. As such, the politicians use the borrowed money to acquire additional revenue to insure there pet project is paid for on time. But this is not just pet projects. It is also loans out to big corporations that do not need it, and bridges to no where. So, that 17% is actually a lot bigger than it actually appears.

Can we do something: One thing that we can do is force our local politicians to stop accepting federal money. We can do that through petitions and voting. If a large enough group of us speaks out, then we can change our situation at the local level. If said voice is strong enough we may be able to do the same at the State and Federal levels of government. But it will take time. Until then, we must pay close attention to the faults within government and embarrass the politicians into stopping their spending sprees. Of course, voting helps further by voting in people who will share your values when your current representative fails to represent the changes and thoughts in your overall community.

Conclusion: There is a lot of waste in the federal government, and it is growing. Politicians wrongly believe that the federal government can solve all the problems in the world and they bribe our loyalty through bad programs. It is time we change this. In fact we must change this soon as we will not be able to pay off the nations debts which will result in anarchy. The debt ceiling that is so often talked about limits how much debt the federal government is allowed to take on. Deficits are the debt tacked on to the national debt when we need to pay for something with money we do not have. As such, we need a way to cap the total debt permanently, and limiting spending to only what money the government acquires through taxes exclusively.