We are in the midst of a national conversation regarding what are the responsibilities of a nation of wealth to provide for its population. Assumptions as to what are the personal responsibilities of individuals to care and provide for their own welfare have eroded on a steady basis over the last 40 years, to the point where societies are being asked to support not only those who can’t provide for themselves, but also for those that can. For this nation, born on principles of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness, this burden is beginning to project to ominous moments in the near future in the form of unfunded mandates. An unfunded mandate has an obvious definition: a government’s promise to underwrite a future personal liability, with no identifiable mechanism for funding it.
Unfunded mandates are becoming a federal, state, and local nightmare, with governmental pensions exploding budgets and entitlements to the population creating dangerous scenarios for budgetary collapse in the near future for massive programs such as Medicare and Social Security, to the point where the very precepts of each are being questioned as to their viability. The health care “reform” of 2010 recently added, only adds to the worst components of the previous system, adds millions to the census of “receivers”, and like its elder brothers, provides no viable means for adequate funding.
We can no longer assume the bottomless resources of a nation of wealth, as obviously the productivity of the population that supplies its wealth is progressively becoming ensnared in its promises to an intolerable level. An ageing society naturally reduces the roles of “producers” to ” receivers”, with the ratio of productive workers to pensioners in the 1960’s of 8:1, soon to fall below the insupportable level of 2:1. Its is strangling our capacity to grow and prosper, poisoning the relationships between generations, and potentially forever changing the implied promise of this nation as one of limitless opportunity to those who seek opportunity.
We can no longer push these issues down the road if we wish to be a viable society our children will be content to live in. Review the U.S. Debt Clock below, and when politicians present their credentials for review for their election as our representatives, ask them what they plan to do about the Monster in the Attic. Vote for the ones who want to kill monsters, not live and ultimately be devoured by them.
How does a populace in which really only a minority cares about the direction or role of government ever change the way that government operates. 234 years ago a people decided they no longer wanted the government to tax without representation or to tell them how to worship or decide how much they could earn. Is that the shelf life of liberty and freedom? 234 years?
Is it because this generation hasn’t had some greater binding cause? 9/11 was an amazing moment in the history of this nation. For the first time since the 2000 election, a clear unity existed. Star Spangled Banners everywhere. Partisanship was nowhere to be found. Yet again, we find ourselves nipping at each others heels because we can’t find something better to do with our time. As much as I can’t stand the mans politics, Russ Feingold has again stood firm against his party because he knew they were putting forth faulty legislation that did not address the problems it was intended to address. (I feel like there could be a truth in advertising tie-in).
The scariest part to me is the pace at which liberties are being taken away or paid for by the government. “Here’s your healthcare”. “Trust us. We’ll run the banking system”. And this:
http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/98759524.html?commentSubmitted=y&refresh=8900#comment47889889
“Earn a degree in medicine at one of the finest institutions in the land and, hey, while you’re here, would it be too much trouble to pay even more to balance the state budget? Wait. Nevermind. We’ll just steal it.” Blatant theft is not okay.
The blatant, deliberate, outrageous audacity with which the governments in this country have operated over the last 18 months is unbelievable. We have a bunch of people that haven’t the first clue about how to balance a checkbook, yet we are allowing them to spend in 12 months, more money than 10 generations of a wealthy family will see. The way the constituents are laying down is even more appalling.
I will attempt to reach for an analogy in the moment. LeBron James. He didn’t want to face up to the challenge of beating his peers the way Russell wanted to beat Chamberlain (one of the strongest eras in our country) or Magic and Bird wanted to crush each other (the U.S. was the undisputed superpower) or the way Jordan wanted to annihilate all comers (the height of U.S. influence). He decided to take the easy way out and join the other team. He found the cheat code in the video game.
Ladies and gentleman, your new government. The group that owns the patent on the easy way out (free health care for all, financial regulations that don’t address the issues but make it look like somebody in Congress was earning their salary, more unemployment benefits) and hammers out cheat codes (raiding the physicians fund) faster than you can get to your phone to call your congressman.
I believe in globalization. I believe we need to integrate ourselves with other nations. Above all, I believe it is a requirement to have pride in the land we live in. If I’m not mistaken, there was a time not so long ago when people in this country were embarrassed to take a handout. This nation was founded on the backs of people that believed in a hard days work, on the brains of people that believed there was an easier way of doing in and through the sacrifice of people that believed it was all so important that it was worth dying for.
As an individual that has lost 3 classmates in a desert that I may never see while fighting a war that I will never fully understand, I would be embarrassed to stand before their families as a nation and say, “This is the best we can do.” As long as people are willing to fight and die for this experiment, then we owe it to ourselves and our posterity to get our act together and begin retaking our liberties posthaste.
bschmitt