you owe $30,000
<< Mar 31, 2006 @ 22:03 >>
For better or for worse, there will be no new or improved national social programs in this country.
The previously [arguably] financially conservative Republican party has turned into the borrow-and-spend party. They no longer are small government on the surface, as they are spending just as much as the Democrats. However, they are taxing less, which means to afford it America has to borrow money from countries like China and Japan.
Yes, that's right, we don't just get to print Monopoly money. America owes trillions of dollars to other countries. The Republicans are all for the new $9,000,000,000,000 debt limit. We're well on our way there from the $8 trillion in debt we're at now.
Now here's the problem: The Democrats are financially responsible. They want to reduce our debt and balance our budget. The Republicans know this, and they've designed the ultimate in devious plans. The Republicans rack up record debts and deficits, and then when/if the Democrats are in power, the Democrats will attempt to pay down our debt and balance our budget, which will leave no money left for the Democrats to start new national social programs. The Democrats' own fiscal responsibility will be used against them by the Republican debt-machine in order to execute the Republican "starve the beast" small government agenda.
The only way Democrats could grow the government is by raising taxes, which always leads to Republicans getting elected again. The Democrats can't beat the Republicans on this. Every time the Republicans are in power they can rack up debt in order to stop the Democratic agenda.
The only way this cycle will ever change, the only way we'll ever see strong federal domestic policy in this country, is if the American people can be convinced that a huge national debt is a bad thing. It might take our economy collapsing to do that convincing.
I leave you with this quote:
"The American Republic will endure, until politicians realize they can bribe the people with their own money." -Alexis de Tocqueville (thanks Brian)