Fiscal Insanity

In a nation of over 300 million citizens, how can the federal government justify receiving over two trillion ($2,000,000,000,000+) in tax revenue/receipts and still run a deficit of $1.58 trillion ($1,580,000,000,000.00) for the current fiscal year. The federal government has lived well beyond its means for too long. The 1970s, 80s, most of the 90s, and this decade were marked by ever growing deficits that nobody in Congress or the White House had the resolve to reduce.

We now have a president who, instead of limiting the spending in the federal government, believes that the government is the sole solution to all our problems and must spend in order for the economy to recover.

When Senator McCain called for spending freezes during the presidential debates, candidate Obama said, "The problem is you're using a hatchet where you need a scalpel." Now that he is President, Obama states that he is a man of fiscal restraint. Where has he been able to cut any money in the federal budget? The deficit has risen due to bank bail-outs and stimulus but the economy has taken a nosedive. Obama has done nothing to reduce the deficit by cutting spending. To extend the metaphor, Obama has thrown away the scalpel and pumped the patient (economy) full of blood, hoping that it will recover from a massive heart attack.

If that was not bad, now we have health care reform that will either balloon the deficit, force the Congress to raise taxes, or limit health care to those who need it. The public option, a.k.a. government-run health insurance, will be a great burden for the federal budget and a bureaucratic nightmare for the millions of people who would be on the public option to receive basic care. Is this true reform that we can afford at this time?

It is time to reconsider our fiscal priorities. We must eliminate any program that is not a priority. Washington must be able to live within the means that We, the People provide them. The “hatchet” method must be deployed to eliminate huge amounts of money that Washington does not need. Fiscal insanity has gripped Washington for too long. Our government must return to the simple concept of staying within its own budget.

http://www.aberdeennews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090830/OPINION01/908300317