Letter to the editor

Where’s the fiscal responsibility?

President Obama ran a campaign on a moderate, time to-fix-up America agenda. And let me say it was a really solid, well-run campaign, but he’s not all that he led on to be.  Obama said there was not going to be anymore backroom style, Chicago politics and that there would be more fiscal responsibility in Washington. I have yet to see it.

Obama ran on the agenda that he is not like the last eight (semi-bad) years of his predecessor. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Obama is more of the same. Let’s start with the stimulus bill … $800 billion out the door like it was chump change, and we have not seen any economic growth. Americans were told by all politicians that we had to pass the bill now and if we don’t, we’ll slip into a great depression. We were also told if we passed the bill unemployment would not hit double digits, but it did. How ironic? And I’d like to know where we got that $800 billion, oh yeah; China lent it to us at twenty (plus) percent interest, so now we’re in debt up to our eyeballs to them with no end in sight.

Now, I know Obama is not the first president to spend money we did not have; Clinton and Bush (remember T.A.R.P., banks are too big too fail, so we got to bail them out) also spent money we did not have. The problem I have is that Obama ran on a policy of change, but nothing has changed. We have the backroom deals between Democrats on healthcare while the Republicans sit on the other side of the aisle and twiddle their thumbs.

What has happened with Gitmo? I thought that was supposed to be closed after a year into Obama’s administration; after all, he signed an Executive Order a week into his presidency closing Gitmo. It’s no big deal though; it’s just another campaign promise broken by another politician.

Now, the healthcare debates are heating up, but is healthcare provided by the government constitutional? No. No. No. No matter how healthcare is passed (if passed), it will and mark my words will turn into socialized medicine because the government doesn’t care about you; they just want more power, control, and money. Second of all, this healthcare bill that politicians are talking about is going to cost money and a myriad of it. We are already running a $1.2 trillion deficit, which continues to rise with no end in sight and it means nothing to anyone in Washington. They want their nose in the energy industry, transportation, etc., and now this. Where does it end? But for politicians, controlling healthcare is the number one way to control your life, literally. Where is the common sense?

The government is to blame for the economic meltdown because after all, Fannie and Freddie answer the Feds and the Feds told the lenders to give ARMs (adjustable rate mortgages) to people who they knew couldn’t afford them. And when the interest rates on the ARMs jumped, the average working man could not afford the extra money every month to pay his mortgage, and then we get foreclosures.  Now, I also blame Americans partially for being gullible enough to buy into this scam, but as Americans, we live beyond our means.

There are several ways to stop this out of control government spending and government takeover. First, cut all federal spending in half. Slash worthless programs that do nothing but gobble up taxpayer dollars. Specifically cut welfare and other social programs in half because it is time for Americans to own up and take PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY for themselves; the government is here to protect, not baby us and take care of us. Two, DE-REG-U-LATE the economy because with all the regulation the Feds have put in place has driven American jobs overseas. Cut small business taxes by half and cut all corporate by a quarter; give employers an incentive to hire more employees. Three, do away with the Income Tax and implement a FLAT (Fair) TAX between 12 and 15% all Americans no matter the income. Let Americans keep more of their money that they worked hard for; it is only fair and morally right. Essentially, the government just has to get out of American’s way and abide by the Constitution and then the Free Market run its course and we’ll prosper.

— Joshua Kramer

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