Yesterday, newspapers and wire services across the country reported that the U.S. government's deficit is expected to surge to an astounding half-trillion dollars next year. Here's the kicker. That figure doesn't include billions more dollars that will likely, nay most definitely, be spent on the Iraq War. And if the economy doesn't pick up, that figure will undoubtedly grow even bigger as Washington officials try to correct our economic woes by pumping artificial money into the hands of unsuspecting Americans.
Folks, this is big. We are facing the largest deficit in terms of dollar amounts in U.S. history and no one seems to care -- at least our presidential candidates don't seemed shaken by the bleak news.
Neither Barack Obama nor John McCain are proposing any budget cuts. Rather, Obama is promising to expand social programs, health care and education initiatives. McCain is promising tax cuts across the board and will keep troops in Iraq. Without budget cuts in other sectors, both candidates' campaign platforms are a recipe for disaster.
Officials reported yesterday that the record high deficit is being driven by the economic downturn and the government's attempt to boost the economy by providing 130 million households with stimulus checks. What the mainstream media has failed to mention is some of the other reasons why the Land of the Free is up to her ears in debt.
Who do you think is bailing out all those mortgagors hit hard by the tumbling housing market? What about the failing banks? The corporations who made bad investments?
Well, obviously it's the government bailing these people out. Wrong. You are bailing those people out! Yes, that's right. You, the taxpayer. Your tax dollars, my friends, are going to pay for the mistakes, irresponsibility and misjudgment of others.
When will the madness stop? Will the government soon start footing the bills for compulsive shoppers who are months behind on their credit card payments? This sounds absolutely absurd of course and rightfully so.
Our politicians need to realize that there is no "quick fix" to this economic recession. Printing more money doesn't solve our financial problems. While it may create more physical money, it decreases the purchasing power of what's in our wallets.
Spending billions of dollars that we don't have is only going to worsen our predicament, not aid it. You don't have to be an economist to figure that out.
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2 comments:
Very well done. I've made many posts on the subject, which is in my main area of economic policy interest (public finance). I just put up the post that I made at the Lawson for Congress blog.
Thank you for also contributing a number of times to the blog in my absence. I have scant time on my hands now for writing.
The USD saw a traumatic day of trading yesterday as it stretched as high as 1.48 versus the EUR, and spiked up to 1.8636 against the GBP. This sharp decline in the value of the USD comes from the ongoing financial crisis and the fact that the recent rescue plan has not yet produced enough confidence in the future of the financial sector. Investor uncertainty lingers over the question of whether or not this plan will do the job, especially when many of its details may not get released until later next week. Until then, the USD will continue to bear the brunt of the recent volatility emerging from this crisis.
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Randall Flynn
Credit Card Debt
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