February 25, 2009

Three things are certain: death, taxes… and tax increases.

Even the economic experts and others on Capitol Hill (I don’t think we can call congressmen legislative experts) are not hiding the truth any more… there’s just not enough money to go around to support everything us Americans want, like a strong military and health programs like Medicare.

Could spending be cut in certain areas, can government be streamlined? Sure, but putting party lines and political battles aside, it seems the inevitable is coming. We are going to have to give more of our hard-earned cash to the government, and not in the very distant future.

The $787 billion economic stimulus package was just signed last week. And President Barack Obama already has his eyes on more spending for education and healthcare, as outlined in his February 24 address to Congress, covered by the Washington Post.

“Obama demanded quick action on several fronts. On finance, he asked Congress to move with dispatch to ‘reform our outdated regulatory system.’ On health care, he said ‘reform cannot wait, it must not wait, and it will not wait another year.’ And on education, Obama said his budget would speed the pace of reform and ‘expand our commitment to charter schools.’

All of this while decreasing the federal budget deficit by half in his first term? And buying stocks in the banks, and bailing out the automotive industry, and on and on and on?

Where is all of this money going to come from you ask? Good question.

The answer is out of the bailed-out banks. Well, not exactly, it will come out of the accounts that me and you have with the bailed-out banks.

Check out today’s article by the New York Times, in which Peter Orszag, Obama’s budget director admits, “We are on an unsustainable path.” Major changes to the efficiency of the health care system, and its programs, will not be enough to make up for the increased demand for money to be poured into them.

Brian Bujdos