A question from one of our liberal friends prompted this response from my husband…. Bert's question was: "How to fix this mess"......
The real answer to your question is complex.
There are several aspects of our current situation that, when properly understood and combined, can only be described as an analogy to the Middle Age challenge that the Knights of yore faced as to “Who can untie the Gordian Knot?”. The problem with the current mess is that the legacy financial / political / governmental system abuse problems pursued over the past several decades have finally evolved to a point where They are “coming to a head” all at the same time. Unfortunately, at this point, they are incredibly huge, intractable and multi-faceted. They are comprised of many diverse elements – some financial / some political / some cultural / etc. A final solution will require that the “sword” be taken out to cut through all the BS/Special Interest distortions/etc. and in effect, push the Reset Button of the US financial and political systems.
This will not happen as a matter of conscious choice in my opinion. The issues are simply too large and intractable given the dominant political mindset(s), hyper-partisanship and relatively low quality/capability of most of the individuals currently in office vis a vis the ability to discriminate between party interests vs. the country’s needs in the short/mid/long term. It will require a catastrophe (i.e., financial collapse) to concentrate the minds of the powers that be. I would appear to me that we are well on our way to that eventuality. Unfortunately for you and me, it will probably happen in our lifetime.
Basically, we have come to a point where the country is confronted with bankruptcy and financial insolvency in the mid to long term at levels that simply transcend any ability of anyone to deal with given the current state of affairs (i.e., economic low growth, destructive tax system, strangulatory regulatory system, etc.). The political class spenders (i.e., of other people’s money) continue with their unbridled destructive profligate policies either through ignorance of economic reality, self-interest or by design. In either case, their conduct is destructive, reprehensible and unlikely to change until (hopefully), a defining event occurs before the looming total collapse comes to pass. It is very much like addictive behavior writ large – narcissistic behavior, state of denial, insistence on instant gratification / getting one’s own way, no sense of propriety, etc.
When you consider that the politicians over promising of entitlements has led to a point where they constitute 80% of the federal budget totaling in the area of $103 TRILLION in unfunded liabilities are immune to revision, are on automatic pilot for continued increases (accelerating) with more and more individuals (most unqualified previous non-participants / non-contributors) added to the programs by the tens of millions, constitute an UNSUSTAINABLE unfunded liability that promises to crash the system, etc., etc. And all this in addition to the $14.4 TRILLION national debt. The excessive spending has led us to a point where the ANNUAL deficit is $1.5 TRILLION + per year as far as the eye can see and the interest on the debt liability promises to grow drastically from its current ~$400 billion per year to a much higher number as interest rates finally return to their historic norms – thereby putting additional significant upward pressure on the annual debt level.
Think about it. If we set out to pay only the national debt off at the rate of $100,000,000 PER DAY, it would take 39 YEARS to retire the debt with no consideration for payment of accrued interest over the payment period. At 5% interest, the time to pay it off would grow to about 8 times as long or 300+ YEARS. And that is just the national debt – not the unfunded liabilities on the table for the entitlement programs.
We are also confronted with the question as to just what is the relationship of the average citizen toe the power of the central government. As the government has grown to mandate the shower head you can use, the toilet you can use, the light bulb you can use, the mileage of your car, your medical care choice or lack thereof (i.e., Obamacare), etc., etc. etc., there is a very real problem re the erosion of all of our personal liberty. There is only so much power in any society. As the government intrusion has grown since the imposition of the income tax (and Federal Reserve) in 1913, our personal freedom has been under continuous assault as the government power and intrusiveness has grown on an accelerated basis.
Additional lamentable considerations:
Our body politic has migrated into a state of hyper partisanship that threatens to make the country ungovernable. Total focus is on demonizing the opposition on a personal basis (i.e., Bill Clinton’s “Politics of personal destruction”) irrespective of what they say or stand for at all costs and damn the country and its pressing interests. It is essentially impossible for any serious politician (or person) to make an honest effort to come to grips with this emerging disaster without being demonized and vilified in the press with the most vile dishonest personal attacks imaginable - never mind the substance of the issue being proposed. God forbid that the discourse would be focused of the proposals in question. Representative Paul Ryan’s recent proposal for a comprehensive solution worked out with and vetted by the Congressional Budget Office is a case in point. It’s one thing to disagree and debate on the merits of a proposal. It’s another to totally ignore the substance of the matter and go directly to ad homonym attacks on the individual.
90%+ of incumbent Senators and Representatives get reelected as a matter of course (both parties) due to the gaming of the system over the years and the exorbitant cost of challenging an incumbent with all his built in advantages that has evolved over the past several decades. Accordingly, there has been an elimination of transparency and accountability for office holders as they pursue their self-interest in office. This, in turn, has violated a fundamental assumption of the Founding Fathers that counted on informed individual citizens (as opposed to political parties or “groups”) to maintain a viable Republic. Unfortunately, this trend has been aided and abetted by an abdication of the press on their responsibilities to “ride herd” on the system, expose nefarious behavior and inform the body politic. The press , in effect has ceased (by and large) in reporting the news and become proactive advocates (propagandists) for the Statist point of view. Bottom line is that the government grows stronger and the individual citizen grows weaker in his freedom and ability to influence events.
At the same time, we have reached a point where those of a “Statist” mentality have advanced their agenda since the 1930s to the point that 80 % of the budget is represented by entitlement spending (read government dependence) that is untouchable and on automatic pilot with excessive and unsustainable increases built in as far as the eye can see. This, despite the obvious negative results of these policies (i.e., the destruction of the Black family unit, etc.). On top of that, we now have about 32,000,000 people on food stamps (up 5,200,000 in the last year). All in the pursuit of votes NOW and, again, damn the country and its need for sustainable finances that do not erode our personal liberties and the intent of the Founding Fathers. I’m reminded of Benjamin Franklin’s response when queried by a citizen as he left the final constitutional convention meeting. To wit: “Mr. Franklin, what have you brought us? A republic if you can keep it.”
Balkanizing of the country into multiple interest “groups” (i.e., Blacks, Hispanics, Gays, “Rich”, feminists, “Jews”, etc.) as opposed to the independent individual citizen envisioned by the Founders. This emergence of “Group” politics (i.e., mass man Groupthink) is exactly contrary to the original precept of the country which enshrined the individual citizen as the political unit possessing inalienable rights et al. This has been done to facilitate the politicians “you are a victim and I am your resolution” strategy that has prevailed lo the past 60-70 years to curry favor and get votes. In effect, the “Statists” have essentially succeeded in repealing the country’s founding principal of “E Pluribus Unum” (From many, one) and individual responsibility for one’s affairs and well being. This is a perfect example why the founding Fathers feared political parties. They were convinced that it was just a matter of time before party interests trumped the country’s interest as cared for by the informed free man citizen beholden to no one. Any objective review of the current state of affairs in the country has to conclude that their fear was legitimate and prescient.
The free enterprise system has been hobbled in a manner analogous to “Gulliver” and the Lilliputians. The combination of taxes, regulations, litigation risk, non-availability of capital, have finally combined to choke the Golden Goose of small business which accounts for essentially ALL the new jobs created contrary to what most people believe.
Tax system atrocity. Super complex, not understandable, costly to comply with, administered by an organization that is, in fact, based on coercive fear in the “Land of the free and home of the brave” and is indistinguishable in key ways from the Nazi Gestapo in the power and actions they possess and assert (much without due process protections). Essentially, the IRS can only be viewed as anti-American as viewed by the Founding Fathers concept of limited government and the primacy of the individual citizen. They operate outside of due process protections and bring, frequently highly arbitrarily, the full force, power and intimidation of the government down on hapless citizens who are ill equipped, at best, to protect themselves. Just think what goes through your mind when you get a letter from the IRS. Bottom line is that the current tax system is grossly unfair and destructive of our free enterprise system (i.e., the historical Golden Goose). It has almost totally succeeded at this point in bringing the system to its knees.
There is much more that I could say in response to your question. I’ll simply close by observing that it appears to me that we are on a fast track to a financial collapse and I truly see no one who can step in and take the actions required to return sanity to our public affairs.
I hope I’m wrong but fear I’m not. |
