Recently I watched a video (http://www.youtube.com/embed/VtVbUmcQSuk) that was the shortest, clearest, and most concise explanation of the seriousness of our budget crisis. You know, the situation that Congress just finished arguing over for months, only to come up with an eleventh-hour compromise that raised the debt ceiling by more than $2 trillion and did precious little to attack the root cause of our problem – massive and irresponsible federal government spending.
This video didn’t blame either political party. That’s because both parties are responsible – or should I say, irresponsible. Old guard Republicans and Democrats – those who have been in office for more than 20 years – are to blame for this debacle. They have mortgaged the future of our children and grandchildren, and probably our great-grandchildren as well. And for what? To ensure their re-election by pork barrel spending on projects like the bridge to nowhere or shrimps on treadmills? To pander to special interests that will contribute to their re-election? It’s all of this and more.
Our Congress has allowed fraud, waste and abuse to permeate our government. They have given billions of dollars to subsidize countries which hate America and have funded infrastructure around the world while our own is falling apart.
Meanwhile, more than 45 million Americans are on food stamps, and only God knows how many more are on other social welfare programs. To top it off, one out of every two American households pay no federal income tax. We need to add about 100 million people to the tax base so the middle class can enjoy some relief.
I’m fed up with this nonsense. The 2012 elections are just 15 months away, and we need to clean the dead wood congressmen out of our house! We need to put the self-serving bureaucrats out on the street and elect people who have the guts to make the wholesale changes necessary for our nation to survive.
Please. Get angry. Get politically active. Use the soap box, the ballot box and the jury box to set things right before we may be forced to use the ammo box.
We had best wake up or the rest of the world is going to destroy us.
Charles Walts
San Marcos
