Dixie - In Memoriam
New member
At some point in the foreseeable future, I think Americans are going to have to come to the realization that we can't continue to allow government to borrow, print, and spend, like insane people. But are any of us prepared to face the ugly truth of how we must fix the problem? Of course, we have to cut the budget. It simply can't be supported by the revenues we bring in, and it can't continue to run in the red forever. As long as it does, we continue to amass debt, and it's almost to a point now, of us never being able to feasibly repay it. Before we can even think about starting to repay it, we have to balance our annual budget, it's as simple as that, but the ugly truth must be faced.
Many of us can stand up and cheer this! Oh yes, we DO need to balance the budget and pay down the debt! The problems start when we begin to get into the details of how we go about doing that. It essentially means drastic cuts in many 'entitlement' programs, of which we have become accustomed to, familiar with, and sympathetic for. It also means dramatic cuts in military funding, government contracts, and corporate welfare. Regardless of the argument for the benefits, these expenditures are way out of proportion to the money we take in, and these discrepancies have to be resolved. Facing the ugly truth requires you to set aside your personal feelings on what is off the table, with regard to budget cuts, and America just isn't there yet.
Liberals want to live in denial of the ugly truth, maintaining that we just need to raise taxes on rich greedy people and corporations, and this is the answer to our money shortfalls. In fact, we can spend even MORE money, if we raise taxes on the rich fat bastards, who have more than they deserve! While this childish mentality serves to gratify feelings of class envy to some degree, it doesn't even recognize the ugly truth. Raising taxes and punishing capitalism has proven to actually be detrimental to revenue, putting us even further in the hole, while liberals appease their denial. Oh, but they aren't Liberals, they are "Progressives!" The only thing "progressive" about their viewpoints, is how progressively it is pushing us off a cliff.
Republicans haven't been much better, they live in their own denial of the ugly truth. If we could just cut taxes and stimulate the economy with corporate incentives, we can "grow" ourselves out of this mess! This is what they say, but... the ugly truth is; not unless we first balance the budget! Oh, but we can't cut the military... Yes, we have to cut the military's budget too, that's all a part of the ugly truth. And on both sides, our Senators and Representatives pander to their own self-interests, fight for the pork for their states... make the backroom deals to secure money for their constituents... and continue to live in denial of the ugly truth.
The act of just balancing the budget, not paying a penny toward the $13 trillion debt, would cause the biggest public outcry this nation has ever seen. There would be opponents on the left and right, screaming and raising hell about elimination of inefficient programs, and cuts in their pet agenda items. It wouldn't be pretty, and the media would inundate us with sob stories, pulling and tugging at our compassionate heart strings, and enough people would cave and give in to the much easier concept of remaining in denial of the ugly truth.
Many of us can stand up and cheer this! Oh yes, we DO need to balance the budget and pay down the debt! The problems start when we begin to get into the details of how we go about doing that. It essentially means drastic cuts in many 'entitlement' programs, of which we have become accustomed to, familiar with, and sympathetic for. It also means dramatic cuts in military funding, government contracts, and corporate welfare. Regardless of the argument for the benefits, these expenditures are way out of proportion to the money we take in, and these discrepancies have to be resolved. Facing the ugly truth requires you to set aside your personal feelings on what is off the table, with regard to budget cuts, and America just isn't there yet.
Liberals want to live in denial of the ugly truth, maintaining that we just need to raise taxes on rich greedy people and corporations, and this is the answer to our money shortfalls. In fact, we can spend even MORE money, if we raise taxes on the rich fat bastards, who have more than they deserve! While this childish mentality serves to gratify feelings of class envy to some degree, it doesn't even recognize the ugly truth. Raising taxes and punishing capitalism has proven to actually be detrimental to revenue, putting us even further in the hole, while liberals appease their denial. Oh, but they aren't Liberals, they are "Progressives!" The only thing "progressive" about their viewpoints, is how progressively it is pushing us off a cliff.
Republicans haven't been much better, they live in their own denial of the ugly truth. If we could just cut taxes and stimulate the economy with corporate incentives, we can "grow" ourselves out of this mess! This is what they say, but... the ugly truth is; not unless we first balance the budget! Oh, but we can't cut the military... Yes, we have to cut the military's budget too, that's all a part of the ugly truth. And on both sides, our Senators and Representatives pander to their own self-interests, fight for the pork for their states... make the backroom deals to secure money for their constituents... and continue to live in denial of the ugly truth.
The act of just balancing the budget, not paying a penny toward the $13 trillion debt, would cause the biggest public outcry this nation has ever seen. There would be opponents on the left and right, screaming and raising hell about elimination of inefficient programs, and cuts in their pet agenda items. It wouldn't be pretty, and the media would inundate us with sob stories, pulling and tugging at our compassionate heart strings, and enough people would cave and give in to the much easier concept of remaining in denial of the ugly truth.
