Posted by
savagejim on Thursday, May 01, 2008 12:00:09 AM
I would like to put forth three basic principles, that if we were to follow as a country would get us out of the financial mess that we find ourselves in. None of these ideas are original or profound, and yet it is baffling why these three simple principles are not followed. The first principle is:
Spend less than you make
Does this really need explanation? This should be self-evident, yet in the last few decades we have ignored this basic principle and we keep ignoring it as budget deficits keep growing at every level of government. We can't personally spend money we don't have (or maybe we can, look to the mortgage foreclosure rate), why should the government be able to get away with this year after year? We are spending money at an alarming rate that we don't have. A couple of examples:
- The "War on Terror". Regardless of how you feel about our presence in Iraq, the fact is that we are defending a country that is perfectly capable of paying for some of the costs involved to rebuild their own country. They do have oil there, don't they?
- The "Economic Stimulus Plan". Anybody think about where this money is coming from? Apparently, they didn't either. Meanwhile, cost of living is skyrocketing while we keep printing more money with no regard for the future.
More taxes = more taxes
Politicians would have us believe that we need to raise taxes in order to compensate for their inability control spending. We are already taxed beyond recognition on everything we consume and some of our more creative legislators are coming up with new ways to bleed every last ruble out of us. Some of the more ludicrous examples as of late:
- The plastic bag tax. Calif AB 2829 would have created a 25 cent "tax" for every plastic bag used at the grocery store. Anybody wonder where that money would go? Are we naive enough to think that we are actually helping the environment by paying into this scheme concocted by well-intentioned elitists?
- The porn tax. Calif AB 2914 would create an 8% tax on "adult entertainment". While I am not supporting the porn industry, these "sin taxes" never have the desired effect that set out to accomplish. Like tobacco and liquor taxes, this bill puts well meaning lawmakers in the awkward position of rooting for X-rated businesses in order to put more money in the General Fund and would be similar to our dependency on tobacco taxes that actually promote more smoking.
Less government is better
This lesson applies to us personally as well. The credit card commercial with the theme "I want it all and I want it now" typifies the attitudes of most Americans. Instant gratification has permeated our lives at every level. It has caused the current mortgage "crisis", to the point that we are now looking to the government to bail us out. (Which is exactly what they want, by the way.) Government never gets smaller. It just uses each crisis to grow itself to the point that we are completely and utterly dependent on them for our existence. Government waste abounds, pork barrel spending is running rampant and we look to Uncle Sam to be our savior. The longer we keep burying our head in the sand, the less we will get for our dollar, more we will be taxed and the more reliant we become.
Obama, Clinton or McCain are not the answer! We are the answer. We should be screaming "We're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore!" at every opportunity instead of buying the lie that politicians have our best interests at heart. We need to take our country back from those that have no clue what it takes to run a country, looking only to increase their power base. As for the politicians, "Let them eat cake."