Dear U.S. Congress: Stop Fighting & Cut The Budget!

Your government has let you down for decades, and now they are attempting to sell your souls -- well, at least your livelihoods -- to China.

News outlets aren't helping either, because they are missing the biggest story since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks: that we have hit the debt ceiling.  The reason they are glossing over it is simple: no one is bleeding.

The story here is that the U.S. has borrowed as much money as we can, and are in serious danger of defaulting on $14.3 trillion in loans, most of it from China.  That's right: the nation footing the bill for our love for excess is one of the few remaining communist nations, an ideology we fought tooth and nail for decades.

The real problem is less the amount of debt and more the federal government's way of handling -- or, more accurately, not handling -- the issue.  Right now, the partisan bickering in both chambers of the U.S. Congress is preventing anyone from actually doing something about it.

On one side, Republicans are refusing to allow the debt ceiling to be raised, an idea I can't say I disagree with.  It has long been the stance of governments the world over that the only way to get out of debt is to accrue more of it.  Any financial advisor -- heck, any elementary school student -- can tell you that makes no sense at all.  Sure, in business it takes money to make money.  But, when you are out of money, the only way to decrease your debt is to set a budget that -- and here is the big "secret" our Congress refuses to understand -- requires spending less than you make.  It's not a novel idea; it's the basis of cutting any excess, be it debt or body fat.

The biggest sticking issues are entitlement programs, but every government agency, organization and group is at fault.  No one wants to make a sacrifice, and every group has at least one willing ear to bend in Congress.

But what we have before us is an emergency situation.  So the bottom line right now has got to be that everyone needs to make a sacrifice or, in this case, budget cuts.

NASA?  Sorry, no moon mission for now.  Medicare and Medicaid?  Unfortunately, those need to make cuts, too.  Welfare?  Well, that's a book worth of blogging in and of itself.

Look, this is government we are talking about.  The best way to explain standard government spending is a line from the movie Contact: "Why buy one when you can have two at twice the price?"  Guess what: we don't need two.  In a lot of cases, we don't need one.  That means near-term pain, both for the nation as a whole and for individuals.  Jobs need to be consolidated or eliminated.  Spending on benefits need to be cut.  Pensions need to be cut or eliminated for government employees.  And -- brace yourself, because this is coming from a registered Republican -- some taxes need to be raised.

The bottom line is that the future of our nation is teetering on the ability of our government and all our citizens to agree to take their fair share of the pain to reduce the deficit.  Right now, the current debt means $129,146 per taxpayer.  With roughly 111.5 million taxpayers in the country, if taxes per taxpayer increased by just $100 per year, we could save $11.15 billion per year.  Yes, that's a small chunk of the deficit, considering this year alone we have already spent $1.3 trillion more than we have made, but it's a start.  And it's an example of how we have to start the ball rolling.

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