Once Upon a Time

In a perfect world, everyone would be able to reach their full potential and success would be easy.  The reality is that once we start down the slippery slope that is easy street, people somehow lose the vision that success has a cost.  If you aren't willing to get up, work hard and never stop learning the end is not where you want it. 

The other day, I listened to a Dave Ramsey speech on Facebook.  He stated our problem pretty simply.  It is about the money folks.  As much as we might want to give everyone everything, we can't.  The hard fact is that only about 50% of the people pay any Federal Taxes.  That 50% can't continue to carry the other 50% at any higher level.  We aren't paying the current cost.

If we had the ability to personally invest our 15% that we pay into Social Security, we could easily have more retirement money.  Social Security is a giant Ponzi scheme.  The money we paid in is long gone and our benefits today are being paid by those working today.  Why do you think Congress calls it an entitlement and not a return on our investment.  Add to that burden the new costs of providing medical insurance to those unable or unwilling to pay for it and the burden just is almost too much. 

The problem is that no one is really willing to talk about the problem out in the open and then find good solutions.  The Democrats talk about the time under the Clinton Administration congress and the President found a way to balance the budget.  The Republicans talk about the need to go there and then some.  Did you know that it costs us almost a dime of every dollar spent to pay the interest on the old debt?  To add to that burden we are borrowing about another 35% of the new dollars spent.

Lets see, that means that about half of the people are paying and the congress is spending about half more than they take in.  Perhaps at the next election we need to replace about half of congress and send a message for them to hear.  Do that for a couple of elections perhaps they might find a way to at least talk about the problems.

But, with that said, I don't blame Congress for the entire mess.   In the last election period Congress had only a 14% approval rating and yet over 80% of those that ran as incumbents were re-elected.  The are just doing what we told them to do.  More of the same.

MUD