You may have seen shocking images from the recent riots in Greece, as that nation imposed painful spending cuts, slashed retirees’ pensions and increased taxes after many years of unsustainable government spending. Enraged rioters tried to storm parliament, and innocent people were murdered when the bank where they worked was targeted with gasoline bombs.
The panicked nations of Europe reluctantly sought to pump lots of money into Greece, fearful that it might default on its debts and spark a Europe-wide financial meltdown.
How we wish that we in America could simply pity those wasteful Greeks and their European neighbors, and reassure ourselves that such a catastrophe could never happen here.
But very disturbingly, our own Congress and president are following many of the same wasteful spending patterns that destroyed Greece’s economy.
While it may be unlikely that Americans will storm the Capitol in Washington or engage in mass violence, our lawmakers continue to spend money we do not have on things that will only increase our national debt and worsen our own economic crisis.
The latest waste is the so-called “Cash for Caulkers” program. With most Democrats in support and most Republicans in opposition, the House of Representatives recently approved nearly $6 billion on this “stimulus” effort to get Americans to insulate their homes better.
Supposedly, the money will create lots of construction jobs and boost the economy. But that is what Democrats and the Obama administration said about the original $862 billion “stimulus” — and that was a giant, expensive flop. Taxpayers are now on the hook for all that borrowing, plus massive interest, but the main thing “stimulated” has been government jobs that add even more to our $12.9 trillion debt.
We should see the alarming and even tragic events in Greece as a warning, not a model. But instead, we are pursuing our own reckless spending full force. We cannot keep doing that without suffering an even more serious financial crisis than we are already in.