I just read David Weidner’s column on MarketWatch, How Apple Would Solve the Debt Crisis. It certainly has a cute title. And Mr. Weidner offers nice references to Apple, Whole Foods and Google and their use of debt or federal grants to finance their start-up phases as he makes the argument that all this talk about “cutting spending” is ridiculous.
Below is my brief response to the Weidners of the world who believe giving the federal government an additional $2 trillion is a no-brainer.
#1 – Question: Does the United States of America have a revenue problem or a spending problem? If your answer is "spending", then the argument ends here; we need to cut. If you answered "revenue", I want to suggest that you perform a little research using readily available census and IRS data. Start in 1940, look at population growth versus federal revenue growth and explain why there is such a dichotomy.
Notice that I did not give you a third option - the so called "balanced approach". This problem is so lopsided that, if you subscribe to Obama's focus group tested balanced approach claptrap, you are probably too far gone for me to persuade otherwise.
#2 - The federal government does NOT produce a damn thing. Every dollar taken from the pockets of the citizens is a dollar that could have been put to a far more productive use. Whether you are using that dollar to buy lunch, a tank of gas or flying your private jet, it is far more productive to the overall economy than any dollar sent to and spent by Washington.
Besides the few enumerated powers given to the federal government by the Constitution, everything can be accomplished more efficiently and effectively by the private sector. Given that, sending more dollars to Washington is beyond ill-advised.
#3 – What evidence can you produce that justifies giving Washington more money than it already has? Answer: there is none! Washington politicians have abused their spending authority for decades while we, the people, sit back in an apathetic coma allowing them to drive us off a bankruptcy cliff.
Where does the economy stand today after all of the non-Stimulus money spent by both Bush and Obama? How long did it take to end The Great Depression with all of FDR’s spending? What happened during the Carter years? What has become of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid?
Answers: It still sucks! A really, really long time. Malaise. They are bankrupt! So much for any evidence that Washington can be trusted with our money.
#4 – When you rent a house or a car, do you take care of it as if it was your own? Of course not! When someone gives you a gift certificate to your favorite store, do you spend the money as prudently as you would if you were spending your own money? Of course not! That’s human nature.
Since government is comprised of humans, it is no different. Like any disinterested, third-party, government is playing with other people’s money and has proven to be a poor steward at best and criminal at worst. Can you think of one example that contradicts this? I implore you to provide me with just one example where the federal government spends our money prudently and is not brimming with waste.
Back to Mr. Weidner – to solve the debt problem, he gives us only two alternatives saying, “We could take a balanced approach of reining in spending and increasing revenue (cutting costs, raising taxes), or we could simply cut, slashing incomes (Medicare, Social Security, the military).”
Don’t you just love liberals? They are so predictable and intellectually lazy. Notice the incendiary language – “SLASH” Medicare! Social Security! Military! Who in the hell is suggesting that we SLASH these entitlement programs? They need to be reformed but I have not heard anyone argue for a SLASH. For crying out loud, the cuts in the debt ceiling bill are over a decade! They are a mere pittance!
I have a better idea Mr. Weidner, how about we SLASH spending at the Department of Education, or at the Department of the Interior, or at the Department of Homeland Security, or at the Department of Health and Human Services, or at the Department of Labor, or at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, or at the Department of Energy, or at the Commerce Department, or at the Department of Transportation? What about Amtrak, the USPS, the Food and Drug Administration, the Labor Relations Administration, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Bureau of Land Management, National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration? I don't imagine there is any waste in any of those agencies!
If you are the least bit interested in how bloated the federal government is? Go to http://www.usa.gov/Agencies/Federal/All_Agencies/index.shtml and see for yourself.
Finally, consider Mr. Weidner’s statement that, “It takes a lot of guts to raise revenues.” Did you also know that the sky is green? Raising taxes takes no more guts than opening your eyes in the morning. Try to cut spending Mr. Weidner and see what happens. You get demonized by The Left, called a “terrorist” by the Vice President and the majority leader, relentlessly ridiculed by the lamestream media and you face a deafening, bury-your-head-in-the-sand apathy by a large part of the population.
Try cutting a bloated, gluttonous behemoth like the federal government and see what kind of guts is required Mr. Weidner!
Unlike Weidner, I only see one way to fix this problem – CUT SPENDING. I don’t care if it is an across-the-board cut, implementing something like The Penny Plan, sticking to a percent of GDP or reverting back to a previous year’s level of spending. Spending must be cut. The federal government’s power must be limited. States’ rights must be resurrected. The Constitution must be followed.
It’s time for stomach tuck surgery on the federal budget!
Footnote: If you don't want to do your own research on the population/revenue question go here: http://apathyreins.blogspot.com/2011_07_01_archive.html
The Lost Art of Critical Thinking and Common Sense in Politics and Public Policy
