Restraint: An Idea Whose Time Has Come.


It is not an unusual occurrence to be shocked and troubled when observing members of our government. However, recently it seems even the most weathered veterans among us are unsettled with Congress’ complete disconnect from the American people. One can see this in many areas but the lack of fiscal responsibility is particularly outrageous.
It is probably borne out of this notion that is popular with the current administration that believes we can borrow billions of dollars and jumpstart the economy. John Maynard Keynes touted this concept. He was delusional and so is Obama. There is evidence published that shows that Roosevelt kept America in the Great Depression much longer than necessary by the same ridiculous logic. If not for WWII, we may still be struggling to regain ground. Prosperity happens when one is out of debt. This idea proposes going into debt to be prosperous again.
If you boil this down to the personal level, the madness becomes very clear. Let’s say for example that the average working family in America has a crisis. Suppose the husband has his salary or hours reduced at his job the same month that his wife is laid off from hers. With a loss of income like that, most families would figure out what could be cut from the budget. Dining out stops immediately, maybe the second car is sold and they stop contributions to the United Way. Perhaps the cable service is disconnected. They make drastic cuts to balance the budget and stay afloat until the normal revenue returns.
But the Federal government doesn’t operate that way. Conversely, they borrow or print hundreds of billions of dollars in the hope that by dumping all that money into the economy it will get the exchange of goods and services flowing again. Even if it works temporarily, it harms the economy because we are so in debt and the dollars are devalued.
In the above example of an average family, it would be similar to them deciding to buy a big screen television and take a family vacation now that they have the time. If they would max out their credit cards, they could get the budget back on track. Obviously it is foolishness.
This may be an over-simplification of Federal policy but the analogy is accurate.
To be fair, it is not only the Federal government that is guilty of this irresponsibility. States and municipalities follow suit. The construction of multi-million dollar stadiums is proposed in the face of record unemployment and declining tax revenues. This happens even if the team does poorly year after year and attendance to the games isn’t enough to fill up the old stadium. Nothing seems to hinder politicians’ desires to spend money that isn’t there. Of course it is always presented as an investment. A small tax will be worth what the community will gain from it. A surcharge here and a slight increase there and we are all slowly bled dry.
Part of the issue is that by the time things get really rough, the present cast of characters will be gone and the next generation will need to deal with it. That is why Social Security has been allowed to go full steam ahead towards insolvency. Tough choices need to be made (not now but years ago) to avoid total collapse. Anyone who even suggests that small changes be implemented are criticized as wanting to lock Grandma out in the snow and laugh while she begs on the corner. It is more important to score a cheap political point than to avert a coming disaster.
It seldom crosses anyone’s mind to spend less, but to always find more money somewhere. This is why casinos and riverboat gambling come up for discussion as new sources of revenue. Few seem concerned about increased crime or families devastated by a gambling addiction. Nonsense. We need MORE MONEY! Belt tightening is for the taxpayers. Let them rearrange the budget, or pick up a part time job. We visionaries shouldn’t be bothered by the constraints of responsibility, depleted cash reserves or a prosperous future generation. This spending spree must stop.
Businesses and households operate with a limited amount of cash. When it runs low, changes must occur to survive. The income is increased or an outlay is diminished. This is quite simple really. Normal people can’t order another pile of fresh cash like Congress can. Why is it that our elected leaders don’t feel compelled to operate by the same rules that everyone else does? It is not monopoly money, it is real. Someone worked for, or will need to repay every dollar that is spent.
At one point in our history, it was a virtue to be frugal and live within one’s means. It was shameful to be deep in debt or a poor money manager. As a society we desperately need to return to that mindset. During a slow economy is the perfect time for Washington to begin