The Sage Observer

Are We Having Fun Yet?

          Well, folks, our illustrious government is still at it; and the bad part of it all is that this charade is costing us a whale of a lot of money and misery. Even worse, they don’t give a damn–most of them anyway. So that I don’t confuse anybody, I’m talking about the Republican Party, who has sold themselves and our nation to big business and the elite (Unfortunately, some Democrats have done that too) in their pursuit of a false and obsolete ideology, their self-interests notwithstanding (No! I can’t tell you who; but, in your search for an answer as to whom, perhaps you should begin with anyone who accepts a campaign contribution [or bribe–what’s the difference?] from a lobbyist). To further inform you, I’m not a Democrat. I am an American, and all I care about is the American people–all of them, top to bottom, rich or poor–and our country. I want a “fair shake” and decent standard of living for everybody. Right now, we are being “taken to the cleaners”.

          In spite of all the bad news, surprise! Some good has come from all of this. They have exposed themselves and their false ideology. Allow me to ask a question. Our real losses are just beginning to be exposed; but, are you missing your government yet? Are you beginning to see how important it is to you and our economy? You bet. All this talk about eliminating government, downsizing it, is a bunch of bunk–trash talk to win elections. The truth is, we need our government. How much do we need? We need as much as our people require and are willing to pay for. We need Social Security. We need national healthcare. We need to help those less fortunate among us. We can discuss its cost (taxes) another time; but, for now, we can surely see our need for government and its importance to us. Of course, it’s easier to see when you lose it–like now.

          Should we balance our budget and pay off our national debt? Of course we should. Let’s get on with it. In reality, however, we should have done that before we “ran it up”, back in the eighties and, especially during the administration of George W Bush. As I have said before, our debt when President Carter left office was under (less than) one trillion dollars. Our deficit when President Clinton left office was zero with a surplus forecasted for years to come. Does anyone remember, “A stitch in time saves nine”; or, “A penny saved is a penny earned”? Certainly, at the time, it wasn't the Republicans. Our official national debt now is rapidly approaching $17 Trillion.

          A study of Economics 101 and Business 100 will tell you in a heartbeat that we should get our financial house in order. If you study closely, it will, also, tell you that now is the time to spend–that is, when, as now is the case, we are in a recession on the verge of a depression. President Obama inherited a financial crisis with twenty-one million people out of work (The figure remains, even now, on or near twenty million). Of course he spent money. He should have spent more. The time to eliminate the deficit and pay down (or off) the debt is when we have recovered from our current financial dilemma.

When we do reduce our spending, we should begin with all this duplication and wasteful spending our politicians have been talking about for all these many years and done nothing. We should begin by imprisoning all those people who have been committing the waste, fraud, and abuse we continually talk about and do nothing. We should install an accounting system in the Department of Defense with books that can be balanced. Maybe we should stop buying drones and airplanes only to  store in the desert and never use. One doesn't have to be a Rhodes scholar to know that spending as much or more on defense as the rest of the world combined is sheer nonsense (those who profit excepted). Maybe our illustrious Congress should go to work for a change. It’s difficult to believe all their talk in the legislature is sincere when they are preaching to a bunch of empty seats. That’s not real debate. They are wasting their time and our money.

It is long past time when we should begin to work together with one another in the interest of our great nation. We should get with it lest we lose our democracy, if we haven't already done so..

Ronald Miller

mtss86@bellsouth.net