 The past few months have brought us unprecedented federal spending with commitments for much more to come. This Congress and Administration are hemorrhaging taxpayer money at a rate unsustainable for any country on earth. And yet, we are not bashful about borrowing money from other countries to fill our insatiable capital need. Our National Debt rolled over to 12 trillion, and there is no end in sight. No one can possibly look at this situation and foresee improvement. Regardless of partisanship, common sense should raise questions about the end game. What happens when taxpayers are uniformly broke? What happens when our international creditors say "no more"? What happens when the well runs dry?
Omnibus bill
On Sunday (when no one is looking), the Senate will vote on the 2010 Omnibus Spending bill. It is a travesty of waste and earmarks that will cost over one trillion dollars. In a radio interview with Glenn Beck on Friday, Congressman Jason Chaffetz of Utah said: I don't know how to put enough descriptors about how insane this process is, but they took six agencies, their appropriations, meshed them into one big, bad omnibus bill, I mean, this is seriously this is bad government at its worst. When the bill was originated, it was 1,088 pages, and it has to go to the rules committee before we as members of congress in the rank and file here can actually see it. It ended up being more than 2500 pages, and we voted on it roughly 24 hours after we got it. It represents half of the entire discretionary budget for the entire federal government, $446 billion, 2500 pages. There are 5,000 earmarks and at its baseline represents a 12% increase in spending for their base budgets, not counting the stimulus and all the other crap, a 12% increase over the base budget from just last year.
Examples of ridiculous waste cited by Chaffetz include: $17 million to Ireland "This was started by Tip O'Neill because we somehow as a country had to help Ireland", $3 million for bike racks in Washington DC (how many bicycles do you suppose there are in DC, and do they outnumber the limousines?), $600,000 for Sunset Boulevard beautification in California, $500,000 for the Elvis Presley Boulevard improvement in Tennessee and $1,948,000 is going to go to the Fish Lake Trail completion in the State of Washington (for those who don't know, that is a 23 mile mountain bike trail near Spokane).
Health Care Bill
Only in DC would they take a program like Medicare that is fundamentally broke and plan to expand it. Only in DC would they tell the American people that this will lower healthcare costs and improve the level of care. Only in DC would they try to convince us that Medicare is not really a government run program (here's a hint: it's broke). This is just a stepping stone to the full blown Government option which will certainly eliminate private health insurance policies for all, to the tune of multi-trillions of taxpayer dollars. If you think healthcare is expensive now, wait until our Government runs it.
Cap and Trade
Those who are paying attention call it "Cap and Tax", because it will tax every American for their basic needs: food, shelter and transportation. Once again, the poor will pay disproportionately, unless of course our Government decides to subsidize their expenses with more taxpayer money from everyone else. An added bonus will be the increased price if items exported to other countries. There is nothing like putting yourself at a competitive disadvantage with the rest of the world. Just another example of this Administration's economic death wish.
Climate Change Reparations
Follow the money to Copenhagen. All these international bandits want is more money, preferably from America. Wherever repressive governments have inflicted poverty, famine, and poor health upon their people, the universal solution is more money from the United States. Call it reparations for 200 years of success born of a Constitution that guarantees freedom to our citizens. Freedom to innovate, freedom to prosper, and yes freedom to fail. Climate change is eternal (can you say: 1930's dustbowl and Iceage?). Only by releasing the human ability to adapt to natural change can we hope to survive, and lining the pockets of despots and international criminals has nothing to do with that.
The ability to be a steward of the Earth, the ability to be charitable and the ability to face down evil are all predicated on internal prosperity. We can't help others if we can't help ourselves first. This Country is well down the path of financial ruin, which should bring no comfort to the rest of the world. They like us, are hugely dependent upon the economic engine of America. In the end, when the money has all been squandered, what will they and we do when the well has finally run dry?
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