FluxCapacitor
11-14-2007, 02:59 PM
Here's the U.S. National Debt Clock:
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/
Here's Ross Perot talking about the 4.1 trillion dollar national debt in 1992. He was right to be concerned! 4.1 trillion dollars was a huge debt. In 15 years, the debt has gone from 4.1 trillion to 9.1 trillion.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERlGndQ_xtM
The problem is that a politician who ignores the Constitution will be able to sacrifice the long-term financial health of the country for their own short-term political gain.
That politician will be out of office by the time the bills come due. So we have several waves of politicians over the decade, and each new wave borrows more money to cover the debt of the previous wave.
This cycle will continue until we, the people, elect representatives who have enough integrity and political willpower to buckle down and get the excess spending under control. We need a president who will tell it like it is. Someone who will put the safety and well being of their country as top priority.
The phenomenon of shortsighted fiscal irresponsibility is a direct result of the fact that the politicians are no longer in office when the country is hit by the long term results of their short term vote-buying policies. There is very little political pressure toward fiscal responsibility. A few lines of rhetoric about it is usually enough to mollify the electorate.
This lack of accountability could never exist in a household. If I spend too much money one year, I have debts the next year, and the interest on those debts will compound. I could take out new loans or get new credit cards, and use them to pay the interest on the previous debt. And then the next year I'll have even more debt and the interest will be even higher. Most people know in their hearts that this sort of thing has to come to an end sometime. The longer it continues, the harder it is to get it under control.
Imagine if you had a stranger come into your household and make all the financial decisions for a few years, and then leave. He wouldn't need to work or produce anything. He could run up the credit card bills, eat fancy meals, take the kids to Disneyland every week. The kids would love it. After four years or so, he would disappear and move on to something else. But the debt wouldn't disappear. You would be left with the debt. That's what's been happening for decades. Each wave of politicians comes in and spends money left and right, then leaves. None of them have politician incentive to address theses problems, because we have no way to hold them accountable after they've left office. The proper way to deal with this is to consider these issues BEFORE we vote.
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/
Here's Ross Perot talking about the 4.1 trillion dollar national debt in 1992. He was right to be concerned! 4.1 trillion dollars was a huge debt. In 15 years, the debt has gone from 4.1 trillion to 9.1 trillion.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERlGndQ_xtM
The problem is that a politician who ignores the Constitution will be able to sacrifice the long-term financial health of the country for their own short-term political gain.
That politician will be out of office by the time the bills come due. So we have several waves of politicians over the decade, and each new wave borrows more money to cover the debt of the previous wave.
This cycle will continue until we, the people, elect representatives who have enough integrity and political willpower to buckle down and get the excess spending under control. We need a president who will tell it like it is. Someone who will put the safety and well being of their country as top priority.
The phenomenon of shortsighted fiscal irresponsibility is a direct result of the fact that the politicians are no longer in office when the country is hit by the long term results of their short term vote-buying policies. There is very little political pressure toward fiscal responsibility. A few lines of rhetoric about it is usually enough to mollify the electorate.
This lack of accountability could never exist in a household. If I spend too much money one year, I have debts the next year, and the interest on those debts will compound. I could take out new loans or get new credit cards, and use them to pay the interest on the previous debt. And then the next year I'll have even more debt and the interest will be even higher. Most people know in their hearts that this sort of thing has to come to an end sometime. The longer it continues, the harder it is to get it under control.
Imagine if you had a stranger come into your household and make all the financial decisions for a few years, and then leave. He wouldn't need to work or produce anything. He could run up the credit card bills, eat fancy meals, take the kids to Disneyland every week. The kids would love it. After four years or so, he would disappear and move on to something else. But the debt wouldn't disappear. You would be left with the debt. That's what's been happening for decades. Each wave of politicians comes in and spends money left and right, then leaves. None of them have politician incentive to address theses problems, because we have no way to hold them accountable after they've left office. The proper way to deal with this is to consider these issues BEFORE we vote.