McCarthy's Fall: The Fiscal Wake-Up Call America Needs
From Broken Promises to a $33 Trillion Debt: The Urgent Cry for Fiscal Responsibility
Kevin McCarthy, the Speaker of the House, was rightfully ousted from his position this past week. Many of McCarthy’s colleagues find him too moderate. They want a Speaker who will be more aggressive in fighting to reduce federal spending and get the nation’s fiscal house in order.
Second, they're angry with McCarthy for breaking his promise to stop using continuing resolutions to fund the government. Continuing resolutions are basically short-term spending bills that allow the government to keep running without having to pass a budget. Many say that continuing resolutions are a waste of money and that they lead to overspending, as well as pork barrel spending. They want to go back to the Constitutional way of doing things, where Congress passes a budget every year, with 12 spending bills each year on the different aspects of government spending, rather than these absurd omnibus spending bills, they’ve been doing over the last decade.
Now, let's talk about the real issue here: the fiscal crisis facing the United States. We're in a hole, man. A deep, deep hole. Our national debt is over $33 trillion. That's more money than you can even fathom. And it's only getting worse. We're borrowing more money every year than we're taking in. And we're spending more money than we can afford.
This is not sustainable. At some point, we're going to have to face the music. We're going to have to make some tough choices. We're either going to have to cut spending or raise taxes. Or both. And neither of those options is going to be popular with the American people, or politicians seeking to get elected to the U.S. House, the U.S. Senate, or the White House. I opt for a serious slash of spending, thereby dramatically reducing the size and scope of the federal government.
If we don't do something serious, we're going to end up bankrupt. And that would be a disaster for everyone.
The Way Forward
So, what's the way forward? We need to start talking about it.
We need to have a national conversation about the fiscal crisis. We need to educate the American people about what's going on. And we need to come up with a plan to fix it. We need to be prepared to make some hard decisions. It's not going to be easy. But it's necessary. The future of our country depends on it.
The truth is, the truth is, there is no truth. There is only perception. - my modified quote from the 19th-century novelist Gustave Flaubert
This is something to keep in mind as you watch the news and read the headlines.
Don't believe everything you hear. Think for yourself. And don't be afraid to question the status quo.
We're in a crisis. And we need to take action. Now.