Back in May, President Obama rightly said that our current deficit spending as a nation is "unsustainable". by Kenn Jacobine
(libertarian)
Friday, September 4, 2009
He stated that high interest rates would be the result for borrowers if we continued to borrow money from other countries to finance our debts. In the President's own words, "We can't keep on just borrowing from China. We have to pay interest on that debt, and that means we are mortgaging our children's future with more and more debt. It will have a dampening effect on our economy." I agree wholeheartedly with Obama on this one and as many of you know this is an extremely rare occurrence, so enjoy it. But, before the Obama backers get too gleeful I disagree strongly with the President's public stand that rising healthcare costs are the major reason for the huge deficits we face now and into the future. To be sure, healthcare costs are high and expected to rise in years to come, but the President is using these healthcare costs scare tactics to get his socialized medical plan through Congress.Â
The real cause of our enormous debt is the mindset that has been cultivated in the heads of many Americans by the statements and the actions of iconic political hacks like Ted Kennedy. For many decades now, Kennedy and many others of the same ilk have been espousing the concept that every American is entitled to an array of special rights. All we need to do is petition the government and demonize the opposition to get what is "rightfully ours." Thus a whole industry of special interest groups has developed, encouraged by the rhetoric and advocacy of the aforementioned political hack and his colleagues in Washington, clamoring for favored federal treatment (bank and auto company bailouts), non-existent rights to cheap medical care, free food, subsidized rent and college educations, corporate welfare, farm subsidies, retirement income, disability benefits, and unemployment insurance. Throw the military industrial complex in there as well, as the politicians in Washington have delivered on what seems like one endless war after another. The list of goodies goes on and on. At the end of the day, we have been left with an $11.5 trillion debt and annual deficits of over $1.5 trillion. To show for it, our infrastructure is crumbling, our schools are impoverished, our citizenry is unhealthy, we are bogged down in two wars, and over the years millions of good jobs have left our country to relocate to places where business climates were more favorable.
The U.S. Constitution does not give the government the ability to bestow any of the above rights on us. All congressional powers are enumerated in Article 1 Section 8. Any powers to grant rights Congress has assumed out of thin air are a usurpation of rights retained by the people according to the Amendment 10 and a violation of the oath to uphold the Constitution that each member of Congress takes. The Founders rejected giving Washington the ability to micromanage our lives precisely because they knew it would come to what we are experiencing today – a bankrupt treasury.Â
Hold onto your wallets because the bestowing of imaginary rights is about to get even worse. The President's healthcare reform proposal would give imaginary rights to healthcare not only to every American but to individuals living in our country illegally. An estimated 15 percent of the 47 million uninsured people in the U.S. are illegal aliens. That's right, about 7 million people that are not citizens and are breaking our law will be covered medically if Obama and his allies on Capitol Hill have their way.
President Obama made sound economic sense in May when he addressed the issue of the budget deficit. It is unfortunate that his actions are disconnected from his rhetoric. It was disheartening to hear the White House recently announce a revision of its deficit projections from $7 trillion to $9 trillion for the next decade. This is an indication that the Administration has no plans to end the federal gravy train also known as imaginary rights anytime soon. Obama's reappointment of Ben Bernanke as chairman of the Federal Reserve is also a confirmation of this. Bernanke has done a great job of helping the politicians avoid tough budgetary decisions by firing up his printing press to cover the huge shortfall. At the end of the day, curing our budget woes will require a change of mindset on the part of Americans. Forget about relying on our elected leaders to help us in that endeavor.
Kenn Jacobine teaches internationally and maintains a summer residence in Haywood County, North Carolina. Visit his blog site online at: The View from Abroad.
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Posted By: Jahfre Fire Eater
Date: 2009-09-05 08:25:57
Hi Kenn,
 Right on! Obama's folks know his fans will only act on how they feel about what he says. The connections between what he does and the awful, inevitable consequences are lost on them. The disconnect between what he says and what he does is also lost on them. As long as they continue to feel good about what he says they will follow him into oblivion.
The deficits are definitely getting to completely ridiculous levels, and there are severe long term consequences of such actions. I was recently reading an article on the gold price at http://www.goldalert.com and how the average person can at least try to protect his or her wealth from the currency debasement that is being caused by all the money printing our government is engaging in.
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