The Blame game

This morning I listened to a news cast where Henry Waxman said the trouble for the economy is all to be blamed on George Bush and in fact it is now a Depression not a recession.   The ironic part of this whole mess is that Congress is the body that passed most of the laws that caused our problems and while the president (in most years) just provides guidance.   I think the finger pointing going on in Washington is an effort to get the blame squarely on somebody else's shoulders.  

Where I am sad about this issue is that the Government so far has failed to provide a plan that can help us work our way out of this mess.  No matter who is in charge, I think the Congress is unable to stop and look at the problems and find real ways that we can all work together and get out of this mess.  They continue to find ways to spend our money without any regard for the reality that they have a finite amount of money to spend and need to spend it a lot more wisely.  (wiser est, smarter, with some idea)

I do think there are better ways to spend our money and here are some of my ideas:

- Just how big a Military do we need?  No one doubts that the Government owes us protection but just how much at what cost.   I spent 25 years is a Reserve Component and I tell you that i was a hell of a lot cheaper than a large standing Army.  After over 31 years, I estimate I was paid less than 20% of what an active component person cost.  In Retirement, the money was delayed until I reached 60 and even not I don't cost the taxpayers 25% of what a retired Active Army Colonel would be paid.  We need a Ground Component (this means combine the Army & marines) we need one GC Reserve (Make that the national Guard). We need a Air Component (Yes, all those Marine Pilots either wear the AC Uniform or go home) and We need a Navy.  No more Coast Guard.  Oh, I would give the Reserve of the Air Component to the Air Force reserves ad i see little need for the Styates to have an Air Force)  

Instead of reducing the number of IRS Agents, we have created a new requirement withing the IRS (Read Obama Care law carefully Boys and Girls)  that has created an estimated 16,000 new agents.  Here is how my budget would work.  Government  would have to pass a budget for near term and far term and they would have to tell us how much money they are going to need.  That money would be taken out of anything we made.  Kind of like a handling fee paid by the credit card companies.  Take it as an income tax, a consumption tax, a head tax, or as a part of everything we produce, I don't care.    What I hate is that the people in Congress feel that their people shouldn't pay and seek loop holes.  Whatever they do, make it fair and equal.  

I hate the idea that we have opened the door to a Global Economy to help us have cheaper TV's and Cars.  The reality is that we have reduced the number of people able to buy new things and cheaper prices are only  the symptom not the problem.  

One thing I really want the people out there know is that a lot of our problems are caused by Unintended Consequences of all the fixes we have tried.  Instead of the government having the lock box for our Social Security Dollars and being the largest source for loans, we have become the largest debtor. 

MUD