How You and I Cause The National Debt Problems

The national debt threatens the future of the United States. What you might find surprising is the fact you and I cause the national debt problems and have only ourselves to blame.

Government Flunkies

Hey, I am right there with you when it comes to complaining about our government. I can’t stand the politicians of either party. Yes, they supposedly stand for different things, but they all do the same thing when in power – spend, spend, spend. Obama had done it, but so did Bush when he was in the White House and the Republicans controlled Congress.

Placing Blame

The blame for the national debt, however, cannot be put at the doorsteps of the politicians. Oh, yes there is plenty of waste we can all point to, but it doesn’t amount to a hill of beans when measuring up the debt. No, the problem is that we demand politicians slash spending and cut taxes, but then scream like small children not getting their way when the politicians actually consider cutting the high cost programs.

Let’s consider Social Security for a minute. It gets a lot of slag from critics, but let’s think this through. What does Social Security provide? It primarily pays seniors a monthly stipend they use to live and get by. Ah, but people want to slash it. Okay, let’s do it. Heck, let’s cancel the program. Well, guess what is going to happen? Grandma and grandpa are coming to live with you. How does that sound? Ah, suddenly you aren’t so interested in the idea of slashing the program, eh?

Untouchable Programs

Let’s be clear. There are three areas that are problematic with the debt. We currently spend more on Social Security, Medicare and the military than we receive in tax revenues. Put another way, we could close every government function with the exception of these three and we would still be upside down. By a lot.

So, what politician is going to throw away their career by dealing honestly with any of these three? If they suggest cutting the military budget, they are wimps. Cuts to Medicare will generate huge backlashes from seniors who vote in large numbers. For all our complaining about spending, we really don’t want it cut when we get into the hard details.

This is why you and I are to blame for the national debt. Until we are ready to go without these programs and pay higher taxes, the blame for our problems can be found in the mirror.

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