While most Americans are fortunate enough to live not only in freedom but in financial circumstances far better than those of most of the other peoples of the world, we are in a period of economic recession, high taxes, big deficits and a lot of governmental irresponsibility.
Tax increases would be extremely unpopular. Many people want government to “do more for us.” Most of our elected public officials really don’t want to face the difficult financial facts. And most of us as taxpayers don’t want to grapple with difficult financial facts, either.
Most of us correctly don’t want to raise taxes. But the federal government is spending many billions of dollars a year for unnecessary and even unconstitutional functions we aren’t able to pay for responsibly.
As a result we have:
* An annual federal budget of more than $3.5 trillion.
* A budget “in the red” about $1.55 trillion, adding to the national debt.
* A national debt of $13.2 trillion, and growing.
* A “personal” share of the national debt of some $43,000 per citizen – on which we must pay interest!
No wonder most people don’t want to talk about those figures. But when we don’t face them – and add bad news of more debt to them – we are asking for much more trouble.
Don’t you think our president and our members of Congress should be facing those tough facts to – at least – not keep making them worse?