Facing Up Essay Contest

As of April 5, 2009, the federal budget deficit is $11.1 trillion dollars while the national debt is $8.4 trillion. This is a total of $19.5 trillion dollars. The areas that cause most of this debt include and are not limited to the Department of Agriculture, Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense, Health and Human Services and the Social Security Administration which is not part of the Federal Budget general fund. There has been a U.S. deficit as far back as 1969 when Congress started spending more money than their income. Congress needs to inquire about what circumstances arose that put a deficit on the federal budget. Will they do that? Probably not.

In my opinion, there are certain programs that I feel are unnecessary. One is the NASA program. Going to the moon was impressive but I really don’t think further space travel is necessary. Why do we have to be in competition with other countries with the “Race to the moon”? Second, we should use our own natural resources such as oil, wind, natural gas and solar power. We have plenty of oil reserves in and around the United States. Wind can be used for energy as long as it is stored effectively. We don’t have to pay for wind. Solar power is also free. Natural gas is rather expensive because it is so regulated. If we use wind and solar power the only situations we really need to do is regulate it and to store it. These types of industries would only stay in the United States and would benefit only the United States. Other countries would eventually catch on and we would get credit for the initial planning and implementing of these energy resource plans. Other countries need to learn how to manage themselves with better resources.

With regards to the Department of Defense, the President needs to stop the war and let the people in other countries fend for themselves. We should not try to democratize the rest of the world. We get blamed for other countries problems when they don’t get what they want or need. We need to protect our own borders and legal citizens within those borders. We also need to have state funding to implement our State Defense Forces. Health and Human services should be ulitilized differently. I have heard and seen first hand, the abuse of the system. Better regulations need to be implemented and a more careful watch of how and what clients of this system are using Federal and State funding. It should be more difficult for people to get funding. In my opinion, Social Security is a Ponzi scheme.

I honestly feel that a large part of the federal deficit can be decreased if Congress looked at the present Federal and State prison systems. It should not cost the American taxpayers one cent to take care of convicted criminals. We pay for their clean clothes, three square meals a day, medical exams and treatments (some of which cost as much as $7,000 a month in free medical care to them), free transportation, free room and board, free entertainment with HD television and a full service gymnasium. They even get a free college education. What is wrong with this picture? I would like these things too but I have morals. Why does it cost the taxpayers more to execute a prisoner than to pay for life in prison of an inmate? I am astounded with the prison system. There should not be a death row. If some criminal confesses to a crime, they should immediately be executed. If a criminal does drugs, his/her hand should be cut off. If a criminal rapes someone, they should be castrated or be permanently sewn shut. I know this sound cruel but something needs to be done drastically to detour people from criminal acts. I also understand people are against capital punishment. Maybe they don’t see the whole picture of the prison system and how much money each inmate costs the American taxpayers. I truly feel again, that much of the deficit could be decreased if we had a decline in the prison community. At least it would be a start. If a person gets life in prison, it means life in prison with no chance of parole. Don’t give someone 130 years. Just say life. If you give them 130 years, it gives them a chance for parole so they can go out and continue their criminal life. The federal government needs to take care of this quickly. I also much add that 85% of the prison system is African American. I am in no way racist. I am just stating a fact that much of the poor areas of the United States involve African Americans and that some of this money from the prison systems could be utilized to help African Americans with programs to keep kids in school and off the streets. There can be after school programs with tremendous incentives for college education and job offerings to students with excellent GPA’s. The problem is, to get these programs initiated without being corrupted by money laundering and other criminal acts.

Congress also needs to take a look at taxing more on alcohol and tobacco. Make it much harder for people to afford these commodities. Also, the federal government needs to increase sanctions to other nations for importing goods from other countries.

Congress will continue to spend taxpayer’s money unless we as a nation unite together and voice our dismay against their actions. The first thing we need to do is contact our state representatives. We need to understand that citizens do have a voice. People are getting tired of being taxed and not knowing where their money is going.