America is becoming a pharmaceutical society. We now have pills for everything. From depression and anxiety to arthritis and restless legs, if you are not feeling well just head for the doctor and get a pill to make you better. There is almost nothing that cannot be treated whether it is physical or emotional.
How about a pill for financial concerns though? Unless I missed the part of President Obama's news conference where he announced a new breakthrough pill for lack of funds I am pretty sure such a pill does not exist yet. Many in America would disagree with me though. They seem to think it exists in the form of the many programs those in government are proposing to deal with our economy. Regardless of how irresponsible the behaviors were that got us into this mess, we seem to be equally irresponsible in assuming that there is some magical formula which will instantly get everything going on the right track again.
In our blind haste and our unreasonable desire to find a quick panacea we are actually making things immeasurably worse. Sure, unemployment may dip a bit and perhaps home values will go up a bit. But how much are we actually getting for our money and how much is it going to cost? We are spending $9.3 trillion over the next 10 years that we do not have. Our children and grandchildren will have to spend $2 to repay the $1 now. $18.6 trillion dollars is an unfathomable amount of money, which explains why it is so easy for our government to sign a few papers and spend it, while we sit back and let, nay encourage, it to happen. Let Congress and the President sign new legislation, receive our finance pill, and we will all feel better for a while. Sounds great, but what happens when the pill wears off?
This nation was founded on the idea that we work for what we get and life is hard. 68 years ago we went to war knowing full well that we had just been through 12 years of economic depression and things were not going to get any easier. They knew there would be pain and sacrafice and that there was no magic pill that would take that pain away. The brave men and women living at that time did what they did not because it was easy but because it was the right thing to do.
We now face tough economic times which are the toughest many of us have ever known. We must measure our temperament and do not what is easy but what is right. This means some Americans will lose their jobs. This means our 401(k) accounts will continue to sag. This means that we will not be able to lease those SUV's or upgrade our plasma televisions. It also means we must hold our elected officials to an even higher standard than we ever have before. We must be willing to feel the pain now to ensure it will not hurt this badly again. There is no magic pill and it is not coming anytime soon.
How about a pill for financial concerns though? Unless I missed the part of President Obama's news conference where he announced a new breakthrough pill for lack of funds I am pretty sure such a pill does not exist yet. Many in America would disagree with me though. They seem to think it exists in the form of the many programs those in government are proposing to deal with our economy. Regardless of how irresponsible the behaviors were that got us into this mess, we seem to be equally irresponsible in assuming that there is some magical formula which will instantly get everything going on the right track again.
In our blind haste and our unreasonable desire to find a quick panacea we are actually making things immeasurably worse. Sure, unemployment may dip a bit and perhaps home values will go up a bit. But how much are we actually getting for our money and how much is it going to cost? We are spending $9.3 trillion over the next 10 years that we do not have. Our children and grandchildren will have to spend $2 to repay the $1 now. $18.6 trillion dollars is an unfathomable amount of money, which explains why it is so easy for our government to sign a few papers and spend it, while we sit back and let, nay encourage, it to happen. Let Congress and the President sign new legislation, receive our finance pill, and we will all feel better for a while. Sounds great, but what happens when the pill wears off?
This nation was founded on the idea that we work for what we get and life is hard. 68 years ago we went to war knowing full well that we had just been through 12 years of economic depression and things were not going to get any easier. They knew there would be pain and sacrafice and that there was no magic pill that would take that pain away. The brave men and women living at that time did what they did not because it was easy but because it was the right thing to do.
We now face tough economic times which are the toughest many of us have ever known. We must measure our temperament and do not what is easy but what is right. This means some Americans will lose their jobs. This means our 401(k) accounts will continue to sag. This means that we will not be able to lease those SUV's or upgrade our plasma televisions. It also means we must hold our elected officials to an even higher standard than we ever have before. We must be willing to feel the pain now to ensure it will not hurt this badly again. There is no magic pill and it is not coming anytime soon.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment