IOUs are not a solution to this issue as they are just another way to avoid the difficult choices that must be made. Plus, IOUs are nothing more than a form of debt which is in violation of the will of the people that voted to end this practice going forward. How is it that state officials do not seem to understand that the voters want the spending reduced, no more searching for ways to keep financing unsustainable budgets with taxes or debt which should include the use of IOUs? It makes you wonder if these IOU issuances may prove to be a ploy in which the state never honors, they can be conveniently extended into the future to be dealt with at another time by someone else. This will make the state Government either disingenuous with the voters or dishonest with the recipients of the IOUs. There is really only one way out of this crises and it is to bring the expenditures in line with the revenue of the state. No amount of political deception, avoidance, or any other attempt of bypassing this reality is going work. Simply, IOUs are a form of debt in which voters clearly rejected, they should not be used and expenditures should be reduced instead.

This is something we should all watch carefully throughout the country because it is going to be the fate of our nation as well. Our Federal Government is travelling down the exact same road of irresponsibility as the state of California did, and our future will soon be bringing us a dreadful message as well. They say as California goes, so goes the country. The only difference is California can not print its own money and the day may come that we are going to wish the same of our Federal Government as well.

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.

The focus of raising the needed funds will surely be centered on borrowing from foreign sources until their lending appetite is exhausted, and then the difference will be covered with printing. It makes you question whether it is better to borrow or print since the foolish decision has apparently been made to spend what we do not have. Borrowing money right now can be done at very favorable rates, but it will have to be paid by taxpayers in later years to include future generations that had no responsibility in the decisions creating it. It is difficult to view this generational theft as anything but morally wrong. On the other hand, inflation created by excessive printing of money is suffered by the very citizens that are currently responsible for this Government’s decisions via the voting booth. By directly affecting the pockets of the current voting public it creates the potential to force some discipline back into the system as the suffering proliferates. Many of the programs that are leading to this unprecedented governmental spending can be reversed with pressure from the current voters, and it is their responsibility to do such or suffer its consequences. Inflation is an evil tax on purchasing power that is effectively a tax on everybody through higher prices of the goods and services in our economy. From a taxpayer point of view this might be the lesser evil versus debt because everyone is sharing the burden of higher prices instead of only taxpayers suffering the burden with repayment of governmental borrowing. That is unless we magically find a way to produce our way out of the deficits, but let’s not hold our breath for that to happen. The burden of excessive spending must fall on either those responsible for it or to a future generation that will have to produce and tax their way out of it. To borrow or to print is a false choice being presented, the right answer is neither, but I think America has proven its inability to take that path.