The Government collects a certain amount of revenue in the form of taxes every year to pay for its existence, yet it customarily spends much more than it collects and nonchalantly finances the difference with hardly a headline. This is an astounding occurrence in that the Government can spend anything it desires and any shortfall from raised revenues gets put on credit for Americans to supposedly pay at a later date, and we have become so accustomed to this that we pay it no attention. It almost seems like some imaginary concept that is not real so we go about our lives and ignore it. It appears insignificant as long as the economy is growing faster than the debt is accumulating; however, it tends to remind you of its existence once the economy hits the skids like it is currently. We are finding out more and more that there is a limit to our excesses and we need to implement a more disciplined approach to managing our expenditures as a nation.

If you think about it, our Government is forcing a backdoor tax increase on us without any public or political debate. Instead of embracing this debate in an honest and open manner, they merely circumvent it by just borrowing the money needed with full knowledge that taxes must be increased sometime in the future to pay for it. Once that time comes, then the American public will have no choice but to face the music and pay up without any opportunity to have their voice heard. It is a dishonest approach that our Government is choosing to employ with us, and the worst part is how unbelievably immoral it is for there to be an expectation that future generations will be happy to pay for our indulgence. We know what revenues are being raised, and we should be required to fit our expenditures within that budget, if we do not have the revenue, we absolutely should not spend the money. This is not only the responsible thing to do, but it also brings the added benefit of forcing an open and timely discussion about Government spending and tax revenues since the two are required to reconcile each and every year. Our current system allows these discussions to be eclipsed hence presenting our Government boundless authority to spend recklessly because they can always borrow more on the taxpayer’s behalf without any consent or approval.

It is hard to understand why it is so difficult for us Americans to live within our means as a nation, and what is it that gives us the misguided thought that it is acceptable to consume more than we can afford anyway? We often exhibit overspending in our personal lives aided by the usage of credit cards, the difference is that we expect to pay off our own credit cards and not presume it to be a future generation’s responsibility. Creating some fiscal discipline would be a shocking adjustment at first, but it needs to be done for the sustainability of our nation and to force our Government to be accountable for their spending on a yearly basis. If spending exceeds revenue, then they must justify why and adjust for its repayment in the next year’s budget. Once the shock of the initial adjustment occurs, it will become much simpler from that point on and the benefits of doing so will start becoming apparent to our nation. Carrying on with the current irresponsible policy that is trashing our future, our currency, and our standing in the world should no longer be acceptable, and the cure begins with balancing our budget which should be seen as common sense.