I’ve written about the US National Debt here and here and here. I even wrote my representatives in congress here. I try and avoid politics, but the staggering amount of debt we have, coupled with no efforts whatsoever to address the debt make me concerned.
In my first post a little over a year ago, the debt clock was
Today it’s at
Lot’s of talk about spending cuts, but debt is up over $2 trillion in a year.
That’s 7.6%. Our national debt got almost an 8% raise this year. Did you?
Politicians
In my posts, I place most of the blame on politicians. We elect them to govern. A big part of that job is coming up with a budget and making good decisions about what to spend on and what not to spend on. Their job is to listen to their constituents and make the tough choices.
Most have taken the easy way out and decided not to anger anyone and instead fight for more and more spending.
Way to go.
Prove me wrong.
Our Part
Upon further reflection, I’m realizing we play a role in this as well.
I got this today
How many No votes do you think they get?
Recently I got a similar plea from the good folks at consumer reports asking me to support keeping the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau alive.
Their spin was “don’t you want to be protected from…” And the answer has to be “Yes, I want protection.”
Both AARP and Consumer Reports have huge sway with elected officials. They both represent a large group of Americans. If AARP and Consumer Reports’ constituents are demanding something, congress needs to listen because that’s a lot of votes.
I’m Waiting for…
“The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) helps every American by giving them some support when fighting a claim against banks, credit card companies and other powerful financial institutions. Do you think the CFPB should continue as is or is there a better way to provide this protection to you? Are you happy with how the CFPB is funded? Do you feel like it has done enough? “
It will never happen, because these companies have a position and they want our voices to ensure that position gets the support required.
Be Careful What You Ask For
If we ask for everything, we’ll get it, but we’ll also get the crippling debt that comes with it.
It’s like the kid who wants the video game console, the bike, the baseball glove and the new Nikes for Christmas. We’d love to give it to them but someone has to be the adult.
Wrap Up
While the elected officials need to be the adults in this scenario, we also have a role to play. If we keep clicking Yes and adding our names to these please for government support, we’re tying politician’s hands.
Yes, I absolutely do want the social security that I earned. I can go to ssa.gov and see the money I contributed and the money that my employer contributed. That should be for me. That’s my money!
But if that’s for me, why are the trustees at social security expecting to run out of money by 2035? Someone’s got some ‘splainin’ to do.
I’m not going to blindly click the Yes button and add my name to the petition unless I really understand what I’m asking for. And I’ve not been able to find a solid answer for this.
Let me know what you think.
This is Funny
…and even if I answer No, AARP tells me I’m wrong and gives me another chance to sign the petition.
How can you not address the politics?
One party has control of both houses and the presidency and they are being assholes. They passed an unbalanced budget in the House which now goes to their peers on the Senate. Worse is that there’s a clause taking away judicial over site of the presidency. Can you say oligarchy? We are not being represented responsibly.
On the SSA $ side of the discussion, it would be an interesting topic to research when did US Govt start borrowing from the funds and for what, as well as how it was (or wasn’t) replenished?
Thanks for the comments. Mike #1 – I try and avoid politics because it never makes me happy. Though I do mostly blame politicians for the state we’re in. The debt to GDP ratio was 52% in 1960, 34% in 1980, 57% in 2000 and then skyrocketed to 122% today. Both parties have gone above and beyond to set taxpayer money on fire. I’ve written letters to congress to share my concerns, but I avoid politics as much as possible. I’d rather talk about golf or BBQ.
Mike #2 – I will look further into this – good topic. From what I’ve read, I see a lot of discussion about congress needing to take action, but my observation is that we’re living longer and we’ve not increased social security taxes to account for the longer payment period. This is the same reason many company pensions failed. This is a hot topic for me so I’ll keep posting what I find.
Thanks for the comments. Keep ’em coming.
An off topic comment/idea: allow thumbs up/down on comments.