The budget crisis presently facing the nation is monumental and perplexing. Revenues are down and virtually all government organizations are struggling to meet their fiscal obligations.
I have to say, however, that the elaborate charade being played out in the Congress is absolutely ridiculous.
On the left we have the Democrats being accused of trying to stimulate the economy by spending tax revenues to create jobs.
On the right we have the Republicans being accused of wanting to stimulate the economy by cutting government spending and cutting taxes to allow the private sector to create jobs.
Both sides are squared off against one another threatening to shut down government funding if they don’t get their way. And all the while our legislators pretend to be solving the problem by cutting a whopping $61 billion out of this year’s budget. WOW! High five! Go get’em, guys!
I’m sure that everyone has heard the joke about how you know when someone is lying. It’s when his lips are moving. I think we are seeing this in spades when our congressmen open their mouths. I’m not sure that we even have a budget deficit problem at all.
If there really is a problem would we be sending foreign aid to countries like Egypt? Would we be up to our ears in conflict with near-eastern countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and North Korea? Would we allow congressional earmarks? I suspect that what is going on in Congress is more about the upcoming 2012 election than anything else.
I think the Republicans are spinning, misrepresenting and outright lying in their never-ending effort to discredit the Obama government so they can regain the White House in the next election. They are trying to blame the current economic situation on this government and make it look responsible for every bad thing that happens. It’s all about scaring the public into supporting them and their ideas. Trickle down economics, that’s the thing!
The inescapable truth, however, is that it was the previous administration that created a war in Iraq, mismanaged Afghanistan, ignored its regulatory responsibilities regarding Wall Street and cut taxes twice knowing only too well that the next government would have to deal with the consequences.
Now that we have real economic problems all they can do is sling mud at every single thing the President does. I don’t think I have ever seen such a duplicitous bunch in my life. They have no cohesive plan of their own, but they certainly have plenty to say about the current administration’s plan.
The question is: What do we do now? Nothing so far seems to have made much difference. Our legislature is hopelessly polarized and thus deadlocked. Each side is maneuvering for an advantageous position heading into the 2012 elections.
I think the American people can see that our republic has fallen on hard times. Our leaders are corrupt and unethical. They respond only to corporate special interests that will line their pockets with gold. Elected officials pander to the people only to get elected and then go right back to the age-old practice of taking money under the table, all the while protesting that they are doing the peoples work. What a joke.
Somehow the people of this country must find a way to bring about change that will create honest, productive government that will turn this great ship into the wind so she can survive. I will never forget hearing President Kennedy at his inaugural address saying, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”
What has happened to us? Now its all about me. What’s in it for me? The country be damned, what about me? Financial scandal, sexual scandal, ethical scandal. Scandal, scandal, scandal!
Sometime ago, during the last presidential campaign, I watched Bill Moyers ask a Hispanic preacher and social activist what exactly he wanted from government. The preacher/activist replied, “Justice and righteousness.” That would be good, wouldn’t it?
David Browning
Peachtree City, Ga.
