Citizen Tom

Cartoon from here.

H/T to Everyday Opinions on Public Policy & Welfare.  From this post.

The video below is the 30 minute byte-size version of I.O.U.S.A (see www.iousathemovie.com).  Please view the video before you consider my comments

Some say this movie is nonpartisan.  Nonetheless, this byte-size version of the movie puts much of the blame on Ronald Reagan and George Bush for our current fiscal situation.  Blaming our leaders is grossly unfair.  This problem has little to do with leadership.   We do not have a leadership deficit.  We have too many people demanding too much government.  We the People have a deficit of wisdom.

Our budget is growing out of control solely because of us.  We are demanding the wrong things from our government.  Government exists to protect our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  Government does not exist to give us happiness.  Nevertheless, we have insisted government give us happiness, and we have nationalized far too much.  That includes such monstrous expenses as:

• Retirement savings.
• Medical care.
• School, business, and home loans.
• Welfare.

There are several problems with the Federal Government being so involved in our economy.

• There is a conflict of interest.  We depend upon the Federal Government to regulate private enterprise.  When government takes upon itself activities that normally would be performed by nonprofits and private business interests, government becomes responsible for regulating itself.  That never works well.
• Government regulates our currency.  We depend upon government to ensure the value of our currency.  When government spending becomes large enough, it becomes difficult for government to collect the taxes it needs to pay for its spending.  When government cannot raise sufficient revenues to pay for its spending, it just prints what it needs.  That inflates our currency.
• The easiest way to solve a big problem is to break that problem up into smaller problems.  That is one reason why state budgets are more manageable than the Federal Budget.  Local government budgets are still easier to manage.  When we are not too heavily taxed, family budgets are the most easy to manage of all.

When we look at the Federal Budget, there is no question who is going to break it.  Even when we have clear evidence that the numbers will never add up, Baby Boomers still expect to retire, collect Social Security, and benefit from government financed medical care.   We naively expect others to pay for our laziness and our goodies.  If any private corporation tried to operate its business the way the Federal Government operates the Social Security Administration, we would see prosecutions (see Pyramid Scheme).   The same is true for Medicare.

The first of our generation will soon reach “retirement age.”  Is it not time we grew up and acted like responsible, mature adults?  Instead of trying to get Mommy and Daddy government pay for everything, is it not time we admitted certain unalterable realities?

• The Federal Government cannot pay for everything we want.
• Taxpayers are not bottomless ATM machines.
• No matter how calmly or self-assuredly a politician tells a lie, it is still a lie.
• Socialism is a recipe for disaster.

There is only one way to reduce the Federal Budget.  We must work until we drop.  Our children will not let us parasitize them and their children.  We do not have the right to expect such a thing.  Instead, we are obligated to protect them.

The outfit responsible for I.O.U.S.A is the Peter G. Peterson Foundation.

Cartoon from here.

The Ant and the Grasshopper

Illustrated by Scott Roberto

In a field one summer’s day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart’s content. An Ant passed by, bearing along with great toil an ear of corn he was taking to the nest.

“Why not come and chat with me,” said the Grasshopper, “instead of toiling and moiling in that way?”

“I am helping to lay up food for the winter,” said the Ant, “and recommend you to do the same.”

“Why bother about winter?” said the Grasshopper; we have got plenty of food at present.” But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil.

When the winter came the Grasshopper found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the ants distributing, every day, corn and grain from the stores they had collected in the summer.

Then the Grasshopper knew…

It is best to prepare for the days of necessity.

(from here)