America Awakens

I am always happy to read letters like Joseph Lowndes’ (Don’t let Republicans take away everything, November 6, Yuma Sun 2011). It means that we are no longer apathetic.  We are finally having a conversation that we should have started decades ago.  Politicians have been buying our votes for a long time, making promises that they had to know they could not fulfill.  We all have known for at least 20 years that we’ve bought into a Ponzi scheme, but we’ve been burying our heads in our armpits and pretending the magic dragon will save us.

I do know this.  We are $15,000,000,000,000 in debt.  The per capita share of the debt is $47,000.  If we add no more to the debt, by the time my youngest granddaughter starts paying taxes, her interest compounded share of the public debt will be $87,000. Every time I get a social security check I add to her debt because the government borrows half of it from China.  Every time I go to the doctor I add more to what my precious granddaughter will owe. We are adding $1.7 trillion each year.  Taxing every rich person in America 100 per cent of their income would not cover that yearly deficit.  The national debt would keep on growing.

We are not going to solve the problem by raising taxes.  As it is 50 per cent of us pay virtually no income taxes, 25 per cent of the work force works for the government.  If my math is right that means that 25 per cent of the wage earners in this country are carrying the rest of us on their backs.

 We have to cut spending.  And it has got to hurt.  It’s like gangrene.  Nibbling at the edges sends the poison straight to the heart.  I personally think it has to begin in Washington.  That bureaucracy is like a tape worm feeding voraciously on the body politic.  Whole departments have to go.  The Department of Energy has done nothing to solve our energy problem.  They’ve had 30 years.   It’s time.  And it’s time to look at legislator compensation.  They are solely responsible for the mess and they need to pay the piper.  Before we means test Social Security, we must first means test congressional retirement packages.  Most of them amassed fortunes while in office.  They don’t need to feed off the public trough any more.