Government Proves Ignoring the Problem is Always the Best Solution
by John Riet

The other day, I was driving to work when my "Check Engine" light came on. Naturally, I was concerned. So, I pulled over to the side of the road, popped open my hood, and disconnected the dashboard electrical system. That light hasn't come on since. And now I can go on enjoying my car, worry-free, for as long as I want.

Sure, many of you are thinking, "but he really didn't solve the problem. He merely removed an obvious symptom." And before Treasury Secretary John Snow enlightened me, I would have agreed with you. But back in late December, Snow warned Congress that a legally set limit on the government's ability to borrow will be hit come mid-February. That means that legally, the government would not be able to borrow more money to keep programs like Social Security or even our national defense operating at the level they are now.

So what was Snow's solution? Raise the legal borrowing limit. He didn't recommend cuts in spending… or even raises in taxes. He did the exact opposite of what all of our parents taught us to do - he ignored the problem and hoped it would go away.

This is what our nation has come to. People are so addicted to something-for-nothing handouts that instead of making them quit cold turkey, our government is constantly finding ways to feed their habit. If any one of us approached our finances in this manner, our credit would be ruined and we would probably be paying for it until our deaths.

Let's say a couple wants to make improvements on their home. They want to put in a new bathroom that their children (right now there's one bathroom and they all have to share), plus they want to re-carpet the entire house, paint the bedrooms, and build a deck with a hot tub. They decide that based on their income and their budget, they can only afford to borrow no more than $20,000. When they get the estimate, they discover it will take $30,000 to do everything they want. Now, a rational couple would sit down and start making choices - what do we need versus what can we live without for now? The bathroom sounds like it's a necessity. So which do you sacrifice? The carpet and painting, or the deck and hot tub? Can they pay for carpeting and paint the rooms themselves? Can they build a smaller deck with no hot tub?

However, in John Snow's world, this couple would simply elevate their self-imposed borrowing limit to $30,000 and do everything they want. A few years later, when they are in financial trouble and missing loan repayments, any one of us would say, "hey. If they were that foolish to borrow more than they knew they could handle, it's their own fault."

So why does the government get a pass? Why does the government not have to live by the same rational standards of responsibility we all do? Why, in the magical land of Washington, D.C. are there no consequences?

John Snow and Congress can raise the borrowing limit to $100 gazillion if they like. Eventually, the laws of economics will catch up with them. As America's population gets older, Social Security will be more and more burdened, along with Medicare and Medicaid. Depending on whom you talk to or what you read, all three of these are on the verge of being broke as it is. Throwing more money at it is equivalent to ignoring it. Eventually, Congress will have to deal with it. They can either slash benefits, or raise taxes - and taxing only the richest Americans isn't going to solve the problem.

Of course, this isn't surprising considering our current welfare state mentality. As much of America has allowed the federal government to become its surrogate parent, it seems only fitting that we adopt the values of our new guardian. Forget what your "birth" or "real" parents told you. The best way to solve a problem is not to face it head on. Just ignore it. It will go away. And so will our country as we know it.