Bernanke explains things to Congress...
Every Friday I get my paycheck. It has to cover my bills and basic living necessities. Great, I can do that ok, and have enough left over to usually do some things that I'd like to do, but don't have to do. We, the people, seem to have forgotten that not everything is a necessity. Well, perhaps "we" is too inclusive as there is a large percentage of this country that DOES understand consequences of negative asset spending. A responsible percentage who manage their lives and finances in a manner that balances the two quite nicely. And I'm not just talking about people who bring home a huge amount of money, here. I am talking about normal, middle-class folk who live within their means.
It is the rest of the people who do not, or cannot, think that "the people" can live without Government intervention. Entitlement programs that were a quick fix in the thirties have now become so commonplace in our society that people cannot live without them! People become so used to having something in their lives that they think they cannot live without that particular item. And because of the way that we have allowed these items to get so out of control we can't just yank them out of the budget without causing some people some serious harm. There are a lot of people who actually count on this income to survive.
I agree whole-heartedly with Mr. Bernanke in that we need to curb our spending. I would like us to go one step further and put an actual balanced budget amendment in place that would mandate that we can spend no more than we bring in each year. And then let the actual Constitution dictate what that money is spent on! No more government support of the arts. No more National Education, EPA and the like. That would all be under the control of each state. Some things that are a national problem, like drugs, could be investigated by a single unit (think if the FBI/DEA/BATF et al were under one roof) and supported by the military.
To spend money that we don't have is to create a huge problem for ourselves that is going to bite us in the butt after a while; and that time is rapidly approaching. I know because I, too, spent more than I can afford. I pay a "stupid tax" each month in the form of credit card debt because I thought I was entitled to certain things. Nope. I have now curtailed my spending to what I bring in - I am paying down my debt - and I am living a leaner, cleaner lifestyle that really isn't all that painful. It was at first, but I quickly found out that I didn't need everything that I'd gotten used to in my life.
Now we need to do the same thing with our Government. It needs slimming down before it collapses under its own weight. We need to get rid of all the unnecessary spending and the Constitution will be the deciding factor, not the people. We need to also implement a single item bill for Congress that would not allow for the tacking on of pork barrel spending. One item per bill: clean, clear and concise. A flat tax for our Federal tax system and then start paying down our national debt. Really, it can be that simple. It can't be implemented overnight, mind you, but it can be done. Must be done. If we don't do it and do it soon we are doomed as a people.
A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship.
~ A. Tyler ~
And, really, this leads us to the the fact that we are a Republic. But, that is another argument for another time.
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