Money, Religion, & Politics - all discussions that could be fun. I like a spirited debate sometimes. Lets start with money.
As we all know the governement is so far in the hole we may never get out, and it would be a shame to let spending be the thing that destroys a country after 200+ years. Of course - like the Roman Empire - most countries dissolve from within.
How did we get so far in debt? Well lets think about this from a "presidential" point of view. Since the 60's we have been going in the hole, but it was not until the huge military build up under Regan & Bush I, that it went crazy. Now the left blames the right, and says the problem really started there. The right says, but it took the build up to defeat Russia. Points scored on both sides.
Next we have Clinton who enjoyed good economic times. On the left - it was his economic policies that did it, and on the right - it was Reganomics that lead to it. Who cares it's all in the past. All I'll say is that Clinton benefited from the Dot.Com company explosion - the booming 90's. Under Clinton we finally managed a balanced budget, with extra to spare. But instead of taking the extra and paying off the debt (don't think we were out of debt under Clinton - far from it) - but no, both sides guilty... lets spend the extra. How does a government keep operating in the red?
Next comes Bush II, or GWB - and does anyone think he would have ran if he could have known about 911? Really? The terrorist attacks on 911 changed everything, and have lead to another huge military build up. Afganistan & Iraq - two wars - two huge drains of money. The economy has gone way south, gas hit $4.00 a gallon, the housing market crashed (thanks Nancy & Congress), and bankruptcy became routine for America, along with the closing of buisnesses.
Now - Obama, who is winding down the Iraq situation, while ramping up the Afganistan one. Hey dude - the entire Russian Army had no lasting success there and pulled out - it was their Vietnam. Please don't give us another taste of Vietnam - the first one kind of sucked.
So in my view - that's our money problems - blame on both sides. Let's not even bring Congress and Nancy (I'm a dictator) Pelosi into it. Or...lets...and point out that it was congress that forced the banks to give unsound loans. Want to know why we 'bailed them out' with out any oversite, but now we own Government Motors, err I mean General Motors? The government is really at fault for the housing crunch, and everything that stems from it. Crazy. Just crazy.
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I'll start by discrediting myself. I am not very well versed in the political blame game. I've never spent the time to figure out who think's what is who's fault. Why? I don't think anyone really knows.
ReplyDeleteThe enormity and complexity of our government makes it impossible for any one person to understand it as a whole, working entity. It's like an assembly line; people know the part they are making, from the vantage point they see it. They may not have any idea that the widget they are passing down the line is part of a time bomb.
You're right. It's madness that we spend and spend into the red, waging war while not taking any measures to reduce costs at home. Here's my take on the root of the problem.
Americans have developed a disgusting sense of entitlement. There exists an assumption that we should be able to spend billions of dollars at war without seeing any reprecussions at home. Remember when gas went up a couple dollars a gallon? Panic! Everyone freaked out! WWI and WWII found people growing victory gardens and rationing out their gasoline to offset the cost of war. Imagine how people would cry if you told them they can only have one tin of coffee a month.
This country was built on sacrifice but somehow grew a crop of citizens unwilling to do so.
What has happened to the culture. How did we grow a generation of cowards. No one wants to take personal responsibility - for anything. Not everyone, but nearly so. I know it's always been the warrior class that holds a society together, but this is crazy. The middle class is fast disappearing, and it's from the middle class that most of the military comes.
ReplyDeleteThe left blames the right, the right blames the left, but we the tax payers are left holding the bill - one which could bankrupt our great nation. It's a conspiracy - I just don't know who's all involved --- the government, other governments, an unknown adversary -- hell anyone/everyone that hates America. I wonder what would happen if China suddenly asked for all it's money that we owe it?