Our Government

Most people didn’t care about the economy, our government or the deficit until recently when prices started climbing up and factories started laying people off. I don’t think they cared about it because they didn’t know what it really meant. I will have to admit that I myself didn’t care about our economy either; it was because I didn’t know about it or how important it was to me personally. After doing a lot of research I learned the difference between the Public Debt and the budget. Public Debt is "real money" borrowed by The Public Debt a small part the U.S. treasury that borrows money needed to operate the federal government and to account for the resulting debt. Budget is a projection of what Congress intends to spend for any given budget year. It’s all on paper; so, having a budget surplus simply means that Congress spent less than what was projected for that particular budget year.  If Congress overspends its projected budget then we have a Budget deficit; which is what we have now.

One if the biggest reasons I think we are in this shape is because this country doesn’t know how to live within its means. Starting on November 3, 2004 the Bush administration decided that it could not work within the budget that it had. They said they did not have enough money to run this country and would be out of borrowing money within two weeks so they put pressure on Congress to raise the debt ceiling. This is a limit set by Congress beyond which the national debt cannot rise; this is the maximum borrowing power that the governmental has. However Congress can periodically raise it if it chooses to do so and that’s what it did in 2004. The purpose of the debt ceiling is force the Government to stay within is spending range but what good does it do if Congress raises it whenever they Government complains they can’t make a budget with what they have. 

The other biggest reason I feel that our debt keeps growing is the Iraq war. I feel that we do need to be over there. I don’t think we should just walk out on the people of Iraq either. The way we are going about it is not doing much good either. I’m sure the government has their reasons for continuing to stay in Iraq. It’s costing our citizens because we are being forced to be away from our fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, brothers or sisters. The loss of lives of our soldiers and families losing their loved one is the greatest cost of all. There is also the financial cost for us continuing the war in Iraq; a cost that is contributing to our country going farther and farther in debt every day. The money we are spending on the war could be spent getting us out of debt $215 billion is a lot of money and could make a nice payment toward our ever growing debt.

According to a new report from National Priorities Project (NPP), the United States is spending between $97 and $215 billion dollars annually on military action to defend access to oil and natural gas reserves around the globe. The Military Cost of Securing Energy provides a critical analysis of the military cost of defending U.S. energy concerns overseas. The report estimates that the military spends up to 30 percent of its annual budget to secure access to energy resources internationally (MSNBC).

I do not think that we should just walk out of Iraq and let them fend for themselves. I do think that we need to set a date that we will start pulling troops out of Iraq. Then, I think we need to do what we say we are going to do. I also don’t think it would be a good idea to pull them all out all at once but rather set a schedule as to how many of them will be coming homes at certain times and stick to it.

I have recently learned about the balanced budget constitutional amendment; it’s an amendment that was written into the U.S. Constitution by our founding fathers. We would need a national convention to propose a federal balanced budget constitutional amendment. The amendment states as follows

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate(us).

I don’t know if this would work but I do believe this would take a lot of power away from the government itself. May if they were held accountable for what they do with our money they would be more careful with it.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15377059/

http://usgovinfo.about.com/blconar5.htm