Fiscal Responsibility, Shmiscal Shmesonsibility
by John Reit (March 16, 2006)

I often use farcical personal stories in my articles to prove my point. But this one is 100% true. A few years ago, with the help of a spend-happy woman I was dating at the time, I ran up an extremely large amount of credit card debt. I mean scary large. Particularly in my case because all my life I had been quite fiscally responsible. Even when I couldn't save, at least I didn't go nuts with carrying a credit card balance. Anyway, when I realized I was in trouble, I changed my spending habits and came up with a plan of how to pay off this debt. The one thing I didn't do was to call my credit card company and ask them to raise my limit. In other words, I acted responsibly. Our government could take a lesson from me.

On Thursday, the Senate passed a resolution to raise the national debt limit to almost $9 trillion. It did so in order to sustain the multitude of responsibilities the federal government has taken on. Social Security, Medicare, welfare, the Iraq war, relief for Hurricane Katrina, and so on. Also, had the measure not passed, the U.S. also would have defaulted on Treasury notes for the first time.

Before the resolution, the self-imposed federal debt limit was $8.2 trillion. And it wasn't like they didn't see this coming four years ago when our budget deficits started reaching record numbers. Someone had to know that at that rate, we would meet and then surpass the $8.2 trillion number. Yes, there were tax cuts. Yes, there was a war on terror to fight. But like President Johnson and the Communist Houses in the 60s, our current government failed to make the necessary adjustments (sacrifices) to ensure a balanced budget, or one with minimal deficits. Johnson and his Communist Party not only began a War on Poverty, but also had to fund an ever-worsening Viet Nam War to pay for - neither of which he was willing to relinquish.

The habit of perpetual federal deficits that began during this time was the blatant symptom of the government overstepping its Constitutional bounds; likewise with our current leaders. The tax cuts initiated by President Bush and the Iraq War are not why we have these budget deficits. Tax cuts and war activities are responsibilities of the government intended by our Constitution. The deficits exist because the government has taken on the role of our personal caretaker with its mismanaged, financially cumbersome welfare programs. Bush certainly had much to do with this - his farm subsidies, his Medicare Prescription Plan, etc.

No one in Washington took the initiative to tame our growing debt. They recognized it, no doubt. They simply chose to do nothing about it. Our so-called Republican Party reversed the accomplishments of their colleagues in the 1990s - when we actually managed to produce a federal surplus. Instead of calling on spending cuts in entitlement programs - rather than relinquishing the duties the government had no business taking on in the first place - they chose the path of irresponsibility when it came time to fund our War on Terror. They chose to pass Bush's Medicare Prescription Plan and his farm subsidies. And ultimately, they chose to raise their level of irresponsibility this Thursday.

Imagine if I had taken similar action when I recognized my financial red flag. What if I had called my credit card company and asked them to raise my credit limit so that I could continue spending? What would happen to my credit rating? What would be my chances of getting a favorable interest rate on my next loan?

Though clearly the role of our politicians has changed, theoretically, they should be leading by example. That being said, is it any wonder why last year, for the first time ever, Americans spent more than they saved? Is it a mystery why our televisions are clogged with commercials for bankruptcy services?

Monkey see, monkey do. Let's just hope the chimps we sent to Washington evolve into fiscally responsible human beings one day (my apologies for insulting the chimp population). Perhaps the American people will see the value in conscientious behavior.