Losing Our Independence
By Cal Thomas
PatriotPost.us
As more Americans, especially the unemployed, come to rely on government to
take care of them, we risk losing our independence.
The Washington Times reports American reliance on government is at an
all-time high. This is not our Founders' America. We seem to have declined from
a "can-do" spirit, to "can't do" -- at least without government -- and soon,
unless we change our ways, "won't do."
Our forebears practiced self-reliance, living within one's means and helping
neighbors. Much of our modern economy is built on overspending, satisfying
desires, pretense, envy, greed, and a sense of entitlement. Politicians who do
not wish to disabuse us of such things keep seeking ways to prop up the falling
house of cards. Who is brave enough tell us we can't go on living -- and
spending -- like this?
Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) has temporarily replaced Dick Cheney as the Darth
Vader of America. His one-man blockade of unemployment and COBRA benefits stems
from his belief that we can't keep spending money we don't have and that any
extension of unemployment benefits should be paid for. Big media and liberal
Democrats, many of whom denounced the far smaller Bush administration deficits,
pilloried him. Having made his point on fiscal responsibility, late Tuesday,
Bunning agreed to allow a vote on extending unemployment benefits, highway
construction funding and spending on other federal programs. In return, Senate
leaders agreed to allow votes on amendments Bunning will introduce to cut enough
spending in other areas to pay for it all.
In The Washington Times story, Harm Bandholz, an economist at Unicredit
Markets, told writer Patrice Hill that our massive shift from self-reliance to
dependence on government may have been essential in order to have promoted last
year's economic revival, but he says it has merely delayed an ultimate day of
reckoning for consumers "who went too far into debt to maintain their lifestyles
during the boom years." This is not only the story of many individuals; but the
story of state and federal governments that go on spending sprees during the
good times and hike taxes and engage in "painful spending cuts" during lean
years.
But back to Sen. Bunning's point, a point made by Democrats when they invoke
"pay-go," by which they mean new spending must be paid for (but not old
spending), either with tax increases or spending cuts, which never seems to
quite work out. The best we can hope from politicians is for them to cut rates
on spending increases. Even that is criticized when Republicans try it. "What
about the children?" is the predictable and phony lament.
Our financial woes become clear when today's total U.S. debt is compared with
total debt during the Great Depression. Patrice Hill writes, "As a result of
record U.S. government borrowing, total debt in the United States has soared to
an all-time high of 370 percent of yearly economic output, far exceeding its
peak of 300 percent during the Great Depression."
"We were neck deep in the big muddy," sang Pete Seeger about the Vietnam War,
"and the big fool said to push on." The Obama-Reid-Pelosi wing doesn't care how
high the water or how deep the mud. They're pushing on toward more debt and
greater dependence on government. When Sen. Bunning says we can't, or we'll
sink, he is vilified. Those who wrongly told us we could ford this river of debt
-- Democrats and Republicans -- should be the ones taking heat. Ultimately,
though, too many of us got ourselves into the muck because we believed the
advertisers and marketers -- and politicians -- confusing real needs with wants.
The more we come to rely on government, the fewer freedoms we will enjoy.
Government will start dictating what we can own, eat and drive, how much of our
money they will let us keep, how we run our businesses, how many -- if any --
guns we can own, and what we may and may not say. Oh, wait! They are already
doing that.
To preserve freedom we must fight for it. Bondage comes when we refuse to
fight and are satisfied with the king's largesse. That foul odor coming from
Washington is the frog in the kettle coming to a boil.
(c) 2010 TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.
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