blackshoe, on May 23 2009, 09:03 PM, said:
mike777, on May 23 2009, 06:18 PM, said:
They might also simply borrow alot more money and repay it down the road.
Sure. Just like the Feds have been doing for the last sixty years or so. Oh, wait... the Federal debt is
growing, not decreasing, ain't it?
California has a terrible mess on its hands, and the rest of the US should take this to heart when considering the financial position of the federal government.
Although Obama represents a great improvement over the leadership we've had, I completely disagree with his "tax cuts for the middle class." Politically, it's always excruciatingly difficult to restore taxes here, even when no good alternative exists. Increases in spending, though, tend to pass easily.
People have a proclivity to avoid making hard choices when payment can be deferred (I certainly have to guard against that tendency in myself), and the consequences always follow. Best to bite the bullet and pay as you go.
I recognize that deficits are necessary in hard times and that permanent improvements in infrastructure represent money better spent than money wasted on self-perpetuating subsidies, untested social programs, outmoded weapons, and unnecessary wars. Yet, I see congress eagerly embracing Obama's spending proposals while pushing aside Obama's proposals for generating the revenue to pay for them.
In my opinion, how Obama handles this will be a major test of his leadership abilities. I wish him well, but worry for my country.
The growth of wisdom may be gauged exactly by the diminution of ill temper. — Friedrich Nietzsche
The infliction of cruelty with a good conscience is a delight to moralists — that is why they invented hell. — Bertrand Russell