The Sage Observer

Our Fiscal Cliff

Our illustrious Congress is looking high and low for cost reductions in government in order to make it smaller, reduce the deficit and, consequently, begin a pay down of our national debt–a noble cause if there ever was one. Whoop de doo! I know no other way to say this than to just come out and say it with all candor. The root cause of the current financial condition of our country lies squarely in the lap of our illustrious Congress in the first place. They are the ones who brought this whole mess down upon us–and, they did it with full knowledge of what they were doing–I call it, “with malice and forethought”. They are those who, under our Constitution, are charged with the responsibility of managing our nation’s affairs. And what happened? We elected them; we trusted them; and they betrayed us. Perhaps not all of them, but the net results are in and the facts are on the table. Our nation is in deep doo, and they put us where we are–the very people we trusted and elected. Now, they spend their time (and our money) arguing, bickering, playing political chess, and pointing fingers at one another.

If you don’t believe I’m telling you the truth, check out our constitution which outlines the responsibilities of our elected representatives. See for yourselves who is responsible for spending our nation’s money. “Go back to 1981” (figuratively, of course) and read a little history, coming forward to the present. Be sure to read about the theory of “Starving the Beast” from which our spending habits were derived–habits which brought us to our current position.

At the end of our fiscal year ending September 30, 1980, immediately before President Ronald Reagan entered office, our national debt was approximately $ 990 BILLION. Now, that is about as close to zero as you are going to see in your lifetime or probably the lifetime of your children if not your grandchildren. Eight years later, just before President Reagan left office, our national debt had increased 187%, almost triple. When President George H. W. Bush left office, our debt increased another 56%, not quite doubled. When President William Clinton left office, our debt had increased only 40% with the budget substantively balanced and with a surplus (NO DEFICIT) projected for years ahead. We were, finally, in a position to begin paying down our national debt. When President George W. Bush left office eight years later, just after the end of our fiscal year ending September 30, 2008, our national debt was $10 TRILLION, with an increase for his term of 77%, almost double that at the end of the Clinton administration–this on top of the surplus Clinton left him. In addition, George W. left a national deficit of more than a $Trillion, a nation in financial chaos, and a deep recession with twenty-one million people unemployed (And, for the most part, they still are. The only thing that prevented our going further on into a great depression was our safety nets of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and Unemployment Insurance, programs we didn’t have in 1932, programs of the New Deal of Franklin Roosevelt and the Great Society of Lyndon Johnson, and the bailout and economic stimulus packages initiated at the time).

In these 28 years since the Carter administration (20 years of which were under a Republican president), our total debt increased $9 Trillion–1,004%.  Under five years of President Obama, our debt has increased another $7 Trillion on top of that, reflecting carry-over of the bailouts incurred by the financial crisis, deficit carry-over from the prior administration and stimulus expenditures incurred in the administration’s attempt to stimulate the economy from the recession caused by the financial crash of 2008. Nobody talks about this–not the Democrats, not the news media, and certainly not the Republican, the biggest complainers about spending of all (and the biggest spenders, also, obviously).

The Middle East wars we fought notwithstanding, what is really behind all of this? What is the hidden agenda? I’ll tell you what I think it is. Certain people among us have decided we should not have such programs as Social Security and National Health Care. They think these kinds of programs are Socialism. If they can spend us to the verge of bankruptcy, our fiscal cliff if you will, they will then be able to force us to bargain away these programs in order to come back to a balanced budget. If you don’t believe what I am saying, step back, and look again. Look at Grover Norquist. Who elected him to solicit binding agreements from our representatives whom we elected? Whose payroll is he on? We’re back to the power elite, the one percent again, aren’t we? Look and listen to those who constantly shout for lower taxes when Federal Income Tax rates are the lowest in years. The top one percent certainly isn’t paying taxes according to their ability to pay as the law was intended. You can surely see that. How many corporations are not paying taxes, sheltering their money in foreign territories? Relative to those who are advocating health savings accounts, privatizing social security, or investing social security monies in annuities, what is their point? Their point is they want that money in their banks rather than our public funds. That’s what their point is.

I have tried to think out of the box on this one and have a suggestion for a cost reduction, which over the years will save us many billions of dollars. Since they haven’t been accomplishing anything anyway, wasting their time arguing, bickering, stalling, going on junkets, etc., etc., let’s reduce the size of Congress. We don’t need that many people anyway. For that matter, most of them aren’t even there most of the time. It takes at least two for a debate; and, haven’t you noticed, most of the time they spend their time reading to an empty audience anyway. Let’s reduce The House of Representatives from 435 members to 218 and the Senate from 100 to 50. Of course we would need to do this carefully so as not to change existing political party balances. That kind of change is best effected at the voting booths. Now that I think about it, why don't we go all the way and eliminate the Senate altogether and have our fifty Governors perform that function in addition to what they are now doing. Our big corporations would term that as increasing productivity. Wow! That’s an idea. That would reduce the size of government–wouldn't it. 

What our politicians tell us notwithstanding, I believe our country remains under the threat of continued financial crisis, mass unemployment, and long term economic decline. We desperately need to get our house in order and do it now. Our national sovereignty and our people’s safety and well being are far more important than the pocketbook of the elite or anything else, this side of heaven.

This is where I stand. Where are you?

Ronald Miller

mtss86@bellsouth.net