IF YOU CAN'T TRIM THE FAT, GET OUT OF CONGRESS

The real crux of the budget cut issue is that the Federal government has pissed away our money and now WE have to suffer for it; that’s the rub. We have high unemployment and all the economic gurus in Washington can say is, “get used to it.” People have lost jobs, cars, houses and families because of what our damned government has done to us. And now, they have the unmitigated gall to ask us to pay for it all.

That having been said, now what? As of this writing, we’re at a budget standoff in Congress with the bully wolves on one side huffing and puffing and the bully bears on the other side huffing and puffing. Then, we have the weeping former Speaker and the wimpy Senate majority leader running around the theatre yelling, “Fire! Fire! They’re trying to shut down the government!” That’s good old Nancy and Harry for you; if they can’t win an argument with facts, they resort to scare tactics. “If we don’t pass this TARP by 6:00 PM tonight, the sky will fall! 200 million people will go without health care unless we pass this legislation by midnight! Fire! Fire!”

Part of the problem is that they are on the course of picking and choosing, and that sets the country up for playing favorites and outright discrimination, like we saw when they forced the shutdown of automobile dealers in profitable locations, simply because they voted Republican or were in conservative districts. In the case of Planned Parenthood and other organizations that get government grants, the executives understand all too well that, if their income gets cut, they’re either going to have to take a pay cut or lose their jobs. Some of those positions of “charity and community service” pay rather large six-figure incomes.

Another part of the problem is that our government has established hundreds, probably thousands, of fiefdoms. “This is MY territory! Don’t screw with it!” Just try and change that thinking and you’ll have the Civil Service on your case faster than greased lightning.  So, how anxious do you think they are to lose an employee or have to cut back on some expense?

Okay, someone suggests that we make things easy and just chop every expense by some amount… say 10% across the board. The outcry is that some vital functions are underfunded as is and such a cut could force them to shut down altogether. Other functions are new and in a start-up mode where they need extra dollars to kick things off, like ObamaCare, for example. Good old ObamaCare… entitlements are at the root of some of this problem, but how can we justify cutting Social Security or Medicare and retaining this new albatross?

The biggest problem we face in this mess is the total lack of responsible leadership. Everybody is shucking and ducking, maneuvering and scheming and no one is coming to grips with the fact that this country is in deep doo doo.

Private industry has proven that it can operate effectively with fewer people on the payroll and by trimming other expenses. Revenues are down, profits are up. Why can’t government accomplish the same thing? Here they are in the process of hiring 200,000 more IRS agents to police ObamaCare. With whose money?

It may well be that the only solution is to close down the government. Close the doors. Send Nancy and Harry home and keep everybody home until we have saved $1 trillion. Then reopen and stay open and repeat the process next year unless they come up with a better solution on their own. All I know is that I’m madder than hell because Washington caused all of this and Washington is not stepping up to the plate to fix it. So, who needs them, anyway? Thank GOD the next election is only 20 months away!

That’s MY AMERICAN OPINION, respectfully submitted.