When, back in those nearly dark ages of long, long ago--when we were all either a lot younger or a lot less jaded, and the money seemed endless just as the stuff to spend money on seemed to be so necessary, there was lots of talk about American Exceptionalism. We can spend, we can spend, we can spend. And we did.
Yet we didn't ask one good question.
Then, administrations came and went. Republicans such as Reagan preached and speeched on and on about 'small government' and 'conservative' values. Democrats such as Clinton made the same speeches and balanced the budget. For a few months.
Even before that recent history, there were clouds in the whole budget issue. The biggest was never noticed. The question was never asked.
We went to war against a tactic, based upon an attack never adequately investigated, killing or maiming millions.
We bailed out the brightest guys in the room. We spent money on a program that Hank Paulson wrote on a piece of legal paper, striking a 'big number' because he knew he needed a lot of money to shift fast and $700 Billion seemed to be a nice figure.
We never asked the question.
We bemoaned 'entitlements' for grandma, education costs for kids, law enforcement toys for police that now look like Darth Vader's Raiders. Money, money, money.
We sent $8 Billion to other countries. Or was that $8 Trillion?* (I know, a B(m)illion here a B(m)illion there, pretty soon you're talking real money -- thanks Ike for the image.)
And, we never asked.
We shifted dollars from column A to column B so that Too Big to Fail wouldn't, well, fail. Again, no question.
Now, we hear that if we honor the promises made to people that paid good hard earned money into things, like pensions and Social Security, which is funded by those payments into Social Security, that Social Security won't have our own money available to pay us back on the money we put in in the first place. And, still the silence is deafening.
Here's the question.
Why didn't anyone ask where the money was coming from to bail out this, fund that war, prop up that banking industry filled with Too Big to Fail? And if it was taken from the accounts funded by workers, why aren't the people that shifted the money rotting in jail for stealing from one trust account to fund a speculative venture like propping up Too Big To Fail?
And, while we're at it, why are we fighting so many wars when no one is attacking us at home? Why don't we stay at home and take care of ourselves for a change? It's less expensive, and would bring a lot more peace to so many countries? Like our own.
But, when all those 'conservatives' were hailing their 'conservative' credentials, spouting off about small government as government doubled in size, just in this Century, why didn't anyone ask how we were going to pay for it, and if we were going to take away the contracted benefits we paid for, why aren't we getting a bailout for us. The taxpayers. The FICA funders. Get the money for the banks from the banks. they have lots of it, because they are too big to fail, and that means they have money. Leave the pittance for the little guys alone, and stop telling us you've stolen it, or plan to do so. Enough.
If we're going to fight wars, how about one against the tactic known as robbery?
Inquiring minds, and all that.
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* http://rt.com/usa/news/fed-trillion-reserve-bailout-401/
As for size of government, budgets balancing and all that, a simple tour of the Google will bring up more links than you'll ever want to review. Honest.
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