One of the favorite proposals advocated is that we need to raise taxes on the wealthy because they can most afford it, and the belief is fostered that they do not pay their fair share of the tax burden. It is amazing how in actuality that the top ten percent of income earners pay the overwhelming majority of all federal taxes paid as widely publicized by the IRS, however this is very inconvenient when it comes to political posturing. This proposal of taxing the wealthy as a solution is deceitful at best because it still would not be sufficient even if they are taxed at 100 percent, but obviously playing this class warfare makes good politics. Simply raising taxes on this group will not adequately raise the necessary revenue needed, only broadening the base of those paying taxes can possibly begin to make this a legitimate option, but any suggestion of that will surely not improve election results. Besides, just how much tax from any dollar earned will Americans presume to be a fair share, is there a limit?

Another favorite proposal supported is that we will just grow our way out of the debt problem. We are doing nothing but fooling ourselves believing this nonsense. We have had many years of strong growth over the last several decades and we have barely even attempted to reduce the debt, instead we continued to run it up overall. The truth is that when times are good we simply spend more and very little attention is given to debt reduction. Our history has shown the propensity to continuously accumulate debt versus restraining our standard of living, and those entitled habits will die very hard. Additionally, common sense dictates that growing our way out of the debt will require huge leadership positions in the industries of the future thereby creating wealth. This becomes difficult to imagine since other nations have recently emerged both economically and technologically, and they are not likely to sit on the sideline while we dominate industries as we have in the past.

That leaves the only certain alternative to effectively reducing the National Debt without defaulting. It is the one choice that nobody wants to acknowledge because it is the most unpleasant one. We must concede that Government spending has to decrease so we can make headway on debt repayment. This is the only logical choice available that will prove effective, it must be the centerpiece of any credible policy. Some blending of the other options may be incorporated, but any policy not materially reducing our Government and its spending is pointless. Our nation has been recklessly accumulating debt for decades, and the time has come to live within our means based on what we produce. Anything short of recognizing this truth is simply ignoring the evident until such time that it becomes painfully forced upon us by creditor nations. We continue down this same perilous path knowing instinctively that something is incredibly wrong, and choosing to believe the propaganda as opposed to embracing this obvious reality becomes nothing more than deception and delay. Hopefully, we all arrive at this conclusion soon so we can move forward on what must be done before the suffering it creates becomes catastrophic.

We have a unique opportunity to witness the outcome of irresponsible Government that promotes a sense of entitlement, and this harsh lesson will continue to unfold all over the globe in the coming months and years. All we have to do is heed this lesson and change course before we suffer the same hardship. We are not too big or too important to avoid the same consequences, however, such attributes may provide additional time for us to make the necessary adjustments to sidestep much of the adversity. The worst case scenario is for us to continue down this same path of thinking that the problems in Greece and Europe are isolated, and that it will never occur here. In fact, it is already emerging in California and a host of other states that are in untenable situations which are expected to only get worse. Our attitude seems reminiscent of the recent mortgage market calamity; we would be hard-pressed to find anybody that thought the destruction would be sitting squarely on the doorstep of the Treasury as it steadily mowed through every level of the financial industry. It seemed impossible, yet there it sits for all of us to enjoy the losses for years to come. This tragedy alone almost brought us to our knees, how many more of these created disasters can we withstand? Our irresponsibility will find its reckoning in one form or another, either we can take corrective actions now and suffer the effects that will be painful yet manageable, or we can continue whistling by the graveyard thinking everything will somehow work itself out without any sacrifice. It is a fantasy to expect that decades of living above our means should continue unabated because of entitlement. Greece has just reluctantly become the canary in the coal mine regarding irresponsible Government for all that will listen and heed such warning.

As human beings we want to believe that health care is a right simply to demonstrate that we are creatures of compassion with a properly functioning moral compass. It would seem less than civilized to not consider health care to be an entitlement, but the truth is that such care must be provided by other citizens that also have rights and freedoms that must be respected. Simply transferring a right from one person to another is not doing anything for our society, nor will it ever. We humans have a great capacity to help others if it remains our choice to do so, but that becomes very limited once it is forced upon us. All of us have a right to pursue quality health care, but not at the expense of our fellow citizens. Adding this perspective to the dialogue paints a more comprehensive picture and accordingly it becomes obvious that health care can not be a right because it violates the rights of another; it should be viewed as a privilege to be “pursued” regardless of how uncaring or objectionable that may sound. It is an imperfect world that we live in and there is a cost to everything that must be paid, so it stands to reason that consumers should compensate providers for any goods or services they receive and not expect others to be obligated. Subscribing to this tried and true practice ensures that everyone’s rights remain intact thereby alleviating this whole debate.

Unions in a nutshell are simply nothing more than labor socialism, and being such makes it very difficult for them to be competitive. In a Union, as in any large group, there are going to be highly productive individuals as well as the average and below average people with protected jobs and pay based on seniority. Not using performance based criteria results in the best performers having to cover for the performance of the laggards which results in the collective being average at best. The optimal method would be to reward the highly productive, purge the laggards, and motivate the average workers to become better, only this will ensure an improved workforce and higher productivity. Union members also must pay dues for the privilege of being a part of this created and protected “average” collective. It exists by building worker dependency that will ensure those dues will continue to roll in for management so they can keep cashing their nice paychecks. The strategy employed is to keep the workers subjugated so they can be used as pawns for the ultimate goal of securing money and power for the privileged few. This sounds precisely like another institution we are all familiar with as citizens known as our Government. Hmm!

It is easy to see why the Union model is failing in this country and it will continue to do so unless it can begin to seriously focus itself to compete with the intention of winning in the marketplace and not just surviving for maximum entitlement. In the absence of this kind of motivation, the more ambitious, focused, and disciplined competitors around the world will be happy to bury them. Competing in the marketplace is crucial because it determines success and failure, and it will be very hard for them to accomplish considering the entitled environment created by the Union mindset. This labor socialism is obviously going to be at a major disadvantage because it does not motivate its workers to excel and there is little individual responsibility expected. The marketplace will continue to require more efficiency from the producers that are willing and able to deliver it, and the rest will slowly erode away. Extorting a mediocre manufacturer for better pay and benefits while ignoring global competition is destined to fail, instead maybe they should focus on why they are “mediocre” to begin with and be more proactive with that issue than with demanding any more concessions.

A place where you are permitted to be successful provided you share an ever-increasing amount of that success with the masses of people that failed to achieve or have chosen to not even try.

A nation of citizens clutching to nothing more than “hope” that they will not be crushed by the massive debt amassed by the few to acquire and maintain political power at the expense of many.

A country perceived with such wealth that its citizens commonly choose to remain uninformed and uninvolved yet they still expect the entitlement of that wealth.

An unconcerned populace expecting a prosperous future while blatantly disregarding all perils since they have never proved ruinous before. Assurance is bestowed by the impression that government cares about its citizens more than itself.