Ask the average person if they’ve ever had to live within a budget and the answer is: “Of course.” We all have to and we take pride in being able to stretch a dollar.
But there is one group in our society that doesn’t think they should have to live within a budget. How did you guess? It’s our congressmen.
The Congress has set-up a spending cap. Why? Well, while the politicians tell you that the budget is balanced, that’s true only when they take all the money being paid in for Social Security. And that leaves a disaster of gigantic proportions just around the corner for millions of retired folks counting on that Social Security money Congress is spending right now.
In order to prevent Congress from spending all the money coming in during these good economic times, and leaving Social Security in bankruptcy, reformers pushed for spending caps. Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska recently complained, “I don’t think we can live under these [spending] caps.” Not surprising because as a career politician for the last 30 years, he’s grown accustomed to spending all the money he feels like. Last year when a budget was passed, out went the spending caps. President Clinton demanded more spending on his pet projects and then Republicans in Congress grabbed more money for their favorite government programs.
So the President and the Congress had a food fight with our money. The interesting thing is that for the most part these are not bad men. But when they’re in Washington term after term spending other people’s money, they change. To them it’s only money ours.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.