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Saving the American Dream
· Thursday, May 19, 2011
It's an era of competing budget plans on Capitol Hill. And with good reason: We've come to a time of decision.
For too long, Congress has been on an unsustainable binge of spending, taxing and borrowing. Our nation is going broke, and we're passing the costs of these misguided policies to our children and their children.
Our national government has become bloated, overextended and unrestrained. It's become oblivious of its core functions, operating far beyond its means and vastly outside of its proper constitutional bounds. Unchecked, the course it's on now will cripple our economy, undermine our prosperity, and lead to fiscal insolvency.
Already, we're living through the shame of being publicly lectured by our creditors in Communist China. The day it was announced that Standard & Poor's had lowered the outlook on our economy, a collective gasp went through the international community. If our elected leaders keep it up, we're certain to face financial crises like those faced by Greece or Portugal.
America is on the verge of becoming a country in decline -- economically stagnant and permanently debt-bound, heavily regulated and bureaucratic, less self-governing and less free.
But this does not have to be our fate. We can get spending under control, balance the budget, and shrink our debt. We can limit the size of government and set free once again the unlimited genius of Americans to create wealth and jobs. We can turn the tide and change our nation's course.
To get our fiscal house in order, we must address Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, the three so-called entitlement programs which together account for 43 percent of federal spending today. Yet the federal "safety net" for seniors still lets far too many seniors sink into poverty. We must recast these programs so that they're affordable and do a better job of helping those in need.
We also need to encourage Americans to become more fiscally responsible themselves. We can do this by redesigning our tax system into an expenditure tax with a single flat rate. This structure will promote savings, therefore benefiting individual Americans, our body politic, and the economy. Greater savings mean stronger capital formation and thus a more robust economy, which means real jobs for Americans.
We have to substantially reduce the size and scope of the federal government, fundamentally increase the role of the states in choosing their own practices, and bring decision-making closer to the people, not to unelected administrators. These steps are crucial to getting our nation on a path of fiscal, political and constitutional responsibility.
That's why The Heritage Foundation recently released Saving the American Dream, a budget plan designed to achieve precisely the goals outlined here. Our proposal aims to preserve America's promise bequeathed to us by past generations.
Heritage's plan may be economic in nature, but it has a higher moral purpose. If entitlements are not reformed, future generations and ones will be saddled with taxes so high, they will end liberty as we know it.
Edmund Burke reminds us to think of our time on this earth not as an individual and temporary event, but rather as a partnership "between those who are living, those who are dead and those who are yet to be born."
We've been here before, and every time the American people have always risen to the occasion and seized the moment. In 1776 we were told that no upstart colonists could defeat the strongest nation in the world. In 1860 we were told the Union could not hold and that America was over. In 1980 we were told that the American century was at an end. Each time, we rose to the challenge -- and conquered.
Hard times demand clear thinking, smart decisions, tough choices -- and action. The future of our nation is at stake.
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American Patriot
America is not on the verge of decline; it is and has been in decline for the past half a century thanks to unchecked and unchallenged progressive intrusion in to the judiciary, education, media, and entertainment.
Yes we have seized the moment in the past when we were faced with adversities, but this time is different. In the past, progressivism was not nearly as trenched in the institutions I listed above as they are now.
With near critical mass transformed in to dependency class or those with sympathetic mindset, we are only relatively few years (and a foolish amnesty disguised as immigration reform) away from effectively permanent Democrat rule.
This is a dynamic that is probably too late to change at this moment. I am afraid that we will have to collapse as a society before we can be rebuilt or split in to two nations with diametrically opposed philosophies.
Progressivism and open and free societies cannot co-exist. This is the ugly reality for those willing to open their eyes.
http://defendourconstitution.blogspot.com/
Posted May 19, 2011 at 1:02:51 PM
Jody
"Yet the federal 'safety net' for seniors still lets far too many seniors sink into poverty. We must recast these programs so that they're affordable and do a better job of helping those in need."
NO, NO, NO!!! It is not the government's place to provide "social safety nets." That is SOCIETY's job, and is done through family, church and social groups unconnected to the government. If 1/3 of my income didn't go for taxes, I could easily provide for my own retirement AND support my aging parents.
Government bureaucracy wastes 90% of the money it extorts from productive people. If we did away with every unconstitutional government agency and give-away, our deficit would disappear the next day and our existing debt would soon be paid.
Stop thinking that government can find the answer. Government is the PROBLEM!!!
Posted May 19, 2011 at 3:41:32 PM
Brian
The other difference between now and 1776, 1860, and 1980 is the character of leadership available at those crucial times. Remember, we also stepped up and did what needed to be done in 1917 and 1941 as well, even while being burdened with the beginnings of the Socialist movement that has culminated in the unsupported debt we see today. Where are our leaders? Who will lead us through this wilderness? I do not know, but I do know one thing: Barack Obama is not it.
Posted May 19, 2011 at 6:13:33 PM
Tex Horn
I'm with Jody on this one. Forget the government handouts, promote self responsibility, family, and faith. In the small Texas town I live in, when a family needs help, the community turns out to help. This is how giving works, not by the government taking your money and redistributing it to those it deems favorable to their particular cause.
And to Brian's point, another difference in America today is that we've been inundated with illegals and migrants from socialist democratic countries who have lived much of their lives "on the dole" from governments. These are the Obama disciples, the ones leading us down the road to communism. I ask, where are the patriots to stop this decline? I'm afraid I know: sitting in front of their TVs, being hypnotized by the lamestream media and their "fake news" lies and politically correct crap.
To the few true American patriots still out there, it is not only time to pray, but it is time to hit the streets.
Posted May 20, 2011 at 12:04:08 PM
blairblaster3
2012 will be the year we either take back the country legislatively or lose it forever. Obama is the face of the symptom as are all the dems in congress (RINO's included)-the real problem is that 53% of the people that voted in 2008 voted for them. What we really need is a veto proof congress. 302 and 67. Let's get to work.
Posted May 20, 2011 at 3:23:32 PM
Edwin
America has been decline since 1860. Study the true history, and remember this: A nation forged at the point of a bayonet cannot stand. I will be glad to answer any questions at: http://facebook.com/EdwinGravitt/
Posted May 23, 2011 at 12:06:29 PM
Robert A. Hall
This column should be widely read, especially by decision makers and opinion leaders. Unfortunately, as I lay out in my recent book, I think if anything it understates the enormity of the challenges we face.
The Coming Collapse of the American Republic: And what you can do to prevent it
http://www.amazon.com/Coming-Collapse-American-Republic-prevent/dp/1461122538/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1304815980&sr=1-5
(All royalties go to a charity to help wounded veterans.)
Robert a. Hall
Posted May 23, 2011 at 3:16:33 PM