Principals are tricky things. You either stand by them or you don’t have them. It seems that in politics the split seems to go about 50-50.
Last November, the voters sent a clear message to Washington; get your financial house in order. Spending in the nation’s capital has been an issue for much longer than the last two years, however it seems that the Obama administration and the congress took it to new heights. If you look at federal spending over the Bush years, it clearly grew at an astonishing rate, but even then spending as a percentage of GDP was nowhere near where we find ourselves now. We stand on the edge of the abyss of 3rd-world countries as an amazing 43 cents of every tax dollar now goes to pay interest on the national debt.
The congress finds itself in a near stalemate situation. The House of Representatives passed H.R. 1 shortly into the session, with 61 billion dollars of cuts in federal spending. Not the 100 billion promised, but through some fancy footwork, the House tried to make us believe that 61 equals 100, because failing to pass Obama’s last budget resulted in 39 billion in savings. No one buys it, but let’s move along.
The senate is ruled by the most radical Liberals in the country’s history. Majority Leader Harry Reid lives in a fantasy world of special interests where we wait until a crisis rears its ugly head before we act. Third ranking Democrat, New York Senator Chuck Schumer, promises bi-partisan agreement on half the cuts while denigrating the Tea Party. They both are so out-of-touch with the American public it’s astonishing.
Schumer calls the cuts passed by the House draconian. Does he even know what that term means? Let’s explore:
Draconian: of or relating to Draco, 7th-century Athenian statesman and lawmaker, or his code of laws, which prescribed death for almost every offense.
So I take this to mean that Schumer is suggesting that the House cuts will result in the death of countless citizens. Really? There’s not enough fat in a 1.7 trillion dollar budget to cut less than 1% without resorting to slaughtering the defenseless?
Schumer maintains 9, that’s right, 9 offices. While I can’t begrudge a U.S. Senator from having offices in Washington and maybe a couple in his home state, does he really need 9? Does any Senator need 9 offices? Who do you think pays for that? How about old Chuckie cuts back to 3 or 4 offices? And while we’re at it, how about every Senator that has multiple offices taking a hard look at what they absolutely need. While Americans are watching every penny they spend, the drunken elitist sailors of Washington seem to think that responsibility doesn’t apply to them.
I gotta give both Reid and Schumer principal points though. They clearly believe that it is the duty of the congress to tax and spend with reckless abandon. They’ve never seen a tax dollar spent that wasn’t for a necessary program. Regardless how warped their view may be, they stick to it and will follow it to the gates of hell.
On the other side of the aisle, principal seems to be in a much shorter supply. The Republicans live in fear. The House and Senate Republican leadership seems to be stuck in 1995. They’re so wrapped up in fear of being blamed for a government shut-down, that they’re willing to cast all principals aside. It’s not 1995.
The public spoke loud and clear in November. It’s not about playing a blame game. We’re not going to put up with this mismanagement of our tax dollars any longer while we watch ourselves head over the financial cliff. The Democrats believe just as heartily that a government shut-down is to their benefit; in fact they’re already polishing their talking points.
When the government shut down in 1995, the world did not come to an end. Many disagree that the shut-down was the cause of congressional upheaval that followed a year later. But what if it was? What principal is of such import as to warrant standing by it, come what may? Many, if not most, of those freshman sent to Washington would not have gotten there had it not been for the principals of the voting public, and if you betray them, you don’t belong where you are.
A government shut-down will cause some hardship, but allowing the spending spree in Washington to continue unabated will cause hardships for generations to come.
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