Spending Into Deficits

By Douglas V. Gibbs

California has seen its share of governments spending more money than they have coming in. The whole State of California is broke, as is Los Angeles, and a number of other Pacific Coast cities. Smaller cities, like Murrieta, are dipping into their reserve funds, and many of them are financially in the red and on the road to bankruptcy just like Los Angeles.

The federal government, like our local governments, is out of money as well. In fact, the federal deficit has reached $82.69 billion, more than twice the $40 billion predicted. The politicians at the local and federal level seem to think that we can keep spending without any repercussions. Problem is, eventually, the money runs out, and so does the credit.

A great example of what happens when spending remains unchecked is the current crisis in the nation of Greece. The European nation is on the verge of collapse, and their credit rating has been rated all the way down to "junk." The lack of economic growth, and the excessive spending into government programs, is creating an economic model of failure that is threatening to sweep across Europe.

To avoid the collapse that Greece, and other European nations, are on the verge of encountering, it is imperative that the United States, both federally, and at the state and local levels, cut spending. We simply cannot afford the "fairness" and "social equity" schemes of the Left, no matter how compassionate some may think those programs are.

Spending has increased during every presidency since Andrew Jackson, except for maybe during the presidency of Calvin Coolidge during the Roaring 20s. In recent years deficit spending has spiked to incomprehensible amounts. Obama's current budget is too much for our taxpayers to handle, and the attempt to make us like a European welfare state will lead us instead toward becoming just like a European failed state.

The question is, are we willing to let go of the entitlement programs that are a large part of the overspending, or like the Greeks, will we just demand our government freebies as the economic stability of our nation crumbles around us?

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary