|
by Mel Griffith
It appears that changing the culture in Washington is proving more difficult than some had hoped. A number of folks got elected to congress promising to cut $100 billion out of the current budget. That got cut down to $61 billion because part of the year was already gone. Then that got compromised down to $38 billion and there are questions about how much of that is real savings. When I went to school, thirty eight wasn't a passing grade. It appears that Washington is already changing some of the folks who went there to change it. Hopefully, at least a little progress toward fiscal sanity will be made in connection with raising the so-called debt ceiling. Actually, there is no such thing as a debt ceiling. It is simply raised each time out-of-control borrowing bumps up against it. It has been raised about seventy times. Setting a new ceiling is just grandstanding to appear responsible. It doesn't mean anything.
Government at all levels has fallen into the habit of thinking that it can and should meet all needs and lots of wants whether it can afford it or not. Here in Bradley County we have borrowed and spent to the point where we have no surplus and no more borrowing power. Still, there are lots of big plans for schools, industrial parks, matching funds for state road projects and other needs. Yes, they will be needed some day, but can we afford them now? The answer appears to be no. We don't have the money and can't borrow it without raising taxes. We should not try to raise taxes every time money is tight, because things are also tight on taxpayers. We should also not be borrowing more money when we already owe money we are only paying interest on without starting to repay principal for several years. Most of us have needs from time to time that we can't afford to fill. We have to get by with what we have until we can afford more. Government will have to learn to do the same.
.
|
|
