Earlier this year, the Social Security Administration predicted that it would soon begin paying more in benefit payments than it takes in, a unexpected reversal from the surpluses that the program has maintained for the past 26 years. Since 1983, the government has collected more money from taxpayers than the program needs to pay benefits and used the excess to pay for other programs ranging from congressional pork projects to salaries for bureaucrats. A shining example of our country’s leaders governing for the moment and leaving us holding the bag.
The predictions made by the SSA have come to fruition. In September 2009 alone, Social Security ran a deficit of $4.3 billion, financed by borrowing. That is on top of a $5.7 billion deficit it experienced in August.
These massive spending sprees and entitlement deficits is why the federal debt is about to reach the maximum allowed level of $12.1 trillion. In theory, once it reaches that level, the government will have to stop borrowing, one would think that this should lead to a more responsible spending. Instead, we can expect Congress to just raise the debt limit by another $1-1.5 trillion and continue to spend irresponsibly. This is unconscionable.
Government spending has exploded and it appears there is no end in sight as some leaders in Congress want a new round of stimulus spending of $150 billion or more. Take a look a very real “hockey stick” graph that should, and I believe will very soon, be the focus of a movement to take away the government checkbook.
Congress is failing to cover its most basic obligations. The Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) rules currently serving as Congress's mechanism for fiscal responsibility has repeatedly failed to control anything. Even though it is designed to require that all spending increases and tax cuts be offset, it exempts all discretionary spending programs, as well as the automatic annual growth of our huge entitlement programs (and they want to add more). Even for the limited portion of the federal budget that is constrained by PAYGO, Congress has repeatedly voted to waive the law, pushing up entitlement spending and budget deficits to historic levels.
Congress and the Obama administration are putting our country in a perilous path: massively increasing government spending while adding to our national deficit, a path that cannot be sustained without economic collapse. Will our country be able to change course before it's too late?
In short, we cannot take our immense wealth for granted. We cannot assume that our country's prosperity -- and the influence that comes with it -- is automatic. We must not strap our children and grandchildren with an astronomical debt that will leave them no choice but to become serfs to the government. Their liberties and freedoms will be non existent and the American dream will be dead.
The spending must stop and our entitlement programs fixed to ensure our future as the greatest country in history. President Obama, history has shown time and time again that Keynesian style stimulus does not work, please, no more Stimulus.
3 comments:
A quick rundown on how gov spending policies work.
When the gov gives money to someone they spend it, the person they bought something from then spend that money. So a gov $1 can add more of less than $1 to the economy.
A $1 spent in the finance sector will add $.14 to the economy a net loss of $.86 which is why TARP didn't do much to the economy.
A dollar increase in food stamps adds $1.14 to the economy a net increase of $.14
A dollar spent on R&D (science) adds $9 to the economy a net $8 and a return of $2 in taxes.
A dollar spent on Education adds $10 to the economy.
It's not a matter of spending more or less tax dollars it is a matter of spending it wisely.
Amen - it's gotta stop. But, even the Republicans continue to vote for these new funding bills and adding billions in pork projects. The entire 535 of them need to go.
The economy is dead. The bush administration added stimulus spending, followed by Obama. Demand for goods and services increases with spending, people 7.3 million people have lost jobs, spending is dead. The government is the spender of last resort, the goal is to increase consumer spending to facilitate hiring. Jobs are the only thing that will bring this economy back.
Yes defecit spending has it's consequences, but the live over our means borrowing of the American public has left us no choice, remember this. Living on credit Americans are as responsible for this mess as the out of control financial institutions. Right now defecit spending is the fastest way to bring us back to a productive economy, yes at a big cost. Those wishing to help accelerate the revival of the economy...buy American made.....WalMart set the model for the draining of American jobs.
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