How about these early morning temperatures these past few days? Bending towards the 50 mark in the middle of May? Now that's what I call a good way to get your day started. I didn't say the same for the afternoons in the 90's which I suppose is only a little preview of what it will be like all day every day throughout the summer. That's okay. That's weather here in these parts. And, I'll take the unseasonably cooler starts, embrace them as much as I can, and be thankful for them. Welcome to
Wednesday, May 18, 2011. I heard last evening just how we could get this national debt taken care of. If every man, woman, and child identified as a citizen of these United States would come up with $129,000 each, pay that amount into the U.S. treasury, then we could put this whole thing behind us. I suppose giving out that kind of information is supposed to help us understand better the magnitude of the problem, but it certainly does not do anything to solve it. It is actually very difficult to even know the truth about anything coming out of Washington D.C. No. I am not being negative and while I will admit that keeping up just a little with the shenanigans that go on 24x7 there would tend to make one cynical, that's not what I am talking about. I am actually thinking about all the games that go on in how the numbers end up being reported to those of us who have to pay for them. All parties at all times are using the numbers in a way that supports their agenda. On budget, off budget, this year, out years, accelerated this, that, or the other, and throw in a whole bunch of words to confuse and distract, that's the gobbly gook we have to try and decipher as we attempt to do our duty as involved citizens.
I think the debt ceiling deal is fairly easy to understand. We are currently on track to spend 1.5 trillion dollars more than we have in revenues for the current year. At the present time we are not allowed to borrow that much. That's why they need to pass a law that will allow us to raise the amount of debt that we as a country can borrow against. Those trillion dollar numbers are really difficult for most of us to get our arms around. One thing we cannot deny and that is what this number represents. It reflects a huge black hole called the national debt that is growing at a rate that everyone agrees is unsustainable. We can't keep doing what we are doing but oh by the way, if we don't keep doing what we are doing, at least for now, the whole world's financial systems will collapse. We don't know for sure what might happen but we do know that Senator Barak Obama wasn't necessarily concerned about the impact to the world economy when he voted against President Bush's request to raise the debt ceiling. Yet, he now has his team reading from the Book of The Revelation to illustrate the potential dire consequences if we don't pass this raising of the amount we can borrow. Don't think it doesn't matter folks. Sadly, it does. All of this has something to do with the price at the pump and it has something to do with why we look at the grocery cart and are stunned to see how little we have for what the tally says on the register. All of these things connect and I suppose the unsustainable part is the run away train that no one seems to have the will to try and slow and then stop. Why? Self interest. Politics. Power. About the only thing running efficiently these days are the presses printing money that will have to be accounted for by many generations to come.
Most folks do get the part about the impact on our ability to provide for our families. Recently I was engaged with some fellows and they are very clear on what happens when you rearrange the size of the pie slices within their family budgets. Gasoline is now a much larger piece of the pie. Food prices are becoming a larger slice as well. That typically means that other slices have to be decreased because the overall pie for the average family is not growing larger. The rainy day fund slice has to suffer. The slice you thought you might have to provide for a vacation has now shrunk. The vacation folks are looking at their pie and they are having to readjust because the folks they thought might be coming will likely we staying closer to home. Repeat this scenario over and over in every area of our lives and we begin to see how things like monetary and fiscal policy at the highest levels do trickle down and you and I are left to deal with the consequences. Those who have come out with plans to try and slow the run away train are ridiculed by all sides. Folks don't like to have to deal with reality especially whenever it involves some painful changes. As usual, we are in that check mate position where much talk ensues and very little ever gets done. We will have the debt ceiling raised because there are too many special interests at stake. We will have the vote spun from both sides about how it did or did not add to or take away from the problem. Meanwhile, those of us who trust in the God who created the universe must turn to Him to help make a way for ourselves, our families, and our nation. If we ever needed His help, we need it now! Amen. .......More later.
I think the debt ceiling deal is fairly easy to understand. We are currently on track to spend 1.5 trillion dollars more than we have in revenues for the current year. At the present time we are not allowed to borrow that much. That's why they need to pass a law that will allow us to raise the amount of debt that we as a country can borrow against. Those trillion dollar numbers are really difficult for most of us to get our arms around. One thing we cannot deny and that is what this number represents. It reflects a huge black hole called the national debt that is growing at a rate that everyone agrees is unsustainable. We can't keep doing what we are doing but oh by the way, if we don't keep doing what we are doing, at least for now, the whole world's financial systems will collapse. We don't know for sure what might happen but we do know that Senator Barak Obama wasn't necessarily concerned about the impact to the world economy when he voted against President Bush's request to raise the debt ceiling. Yet, he now has his team reading from the Book of The Revelation to illustrate the potential dire consequences if we don't pass this raising of the amount we can borrow. Don't think it doesn't matter folks. Sadly, it does. All of this has something to do with the price at the pump and it has something to do with why we look at the grocery cart and are stunned to see how little we have for what the tally says on the register. All of these things connect and I suppose the unsustainable part is the run away train that no one seems to have the will to try and slow and then stop. Why? Self interest. Politics. Power. About the only thing running efficiently these days are the presses printing money that will have to be accounted for by many generations to come. 
Most folks do get the part about the impact on our ability to provide for our families. Recently I was engaged with some fellows and they are very clear on what happens when you rearrange the size of the pie slices within their family budgets. Gasoline is now a much larger piece of the pie. Food prices are becoming a larger slice as well. That typically means that other slices have to be decreased because the overall pie for the average family is not growing larger. The rainy day fund slice has to suffer. The slice you thought you might have to provide for a vacation has now shrunk. The vacation folks are looking at their pie and they are having to readjust because the folks they thought might be coming will likely we staying closer to home. Repeat this scenario over and over in every area of our lives and we begin to see how things like monetary and fiscal policy at the highest levels do trickle down and you and I are left to deal with the consequences. Those who have come out with plans to try and slow the run away train are ridiculed by all sides. Folks don't like to have to deal with reality especially whenever it involves some painful changes. As usual, we are in that check mate position where much talk ensues and very little ever gets done. We will have the debt ceiling raised because there are too many special interests at stake. We will have the vote spun from both sides about how it did or did not add to or take away from the problem. Meanwhile, those of us who trust in the God who created the universe must turn to Him to help make a way for ourselves, our families, and our nation. If we ever needed His help, we need it now! Amen. .......More later.
No comments:
Post a Comment