Last week, I read some unnerving news regarding this country's ever increasing debt. The United States had hit its debt limit … a whopping $14.3 trillion ceiling. While not really all that surprising to me considering the way the government spends money, what really concerns me is the Obama administration's temporary immediate response: to halt payments to the retirement and pension funds of federal workers and borrow from those accounts. Maybe President Obama thought it would be OK to take this course of action, what with the impending rapture or Zombie Apocalypse or whatever supposedly happening on May 20. But, clearly, we are still here, which means the government is still borrowing from those funds.
I would be just fine with this method if it were the president or members of Congress and the House of Representatives who were directly affected. But, "federal workers" is pretty vague. My guess is it's your average everyday workers in post offices and DMV locations across the country who will be impacted. Since my mom is a postal clerk and has been with the United States Postal Service for nearly 30 years, it very much upsets me that our government is screwing with the funds that she is entitled to upon retirement. Sure, we're being told that the funds will be replenished if the debt ceiling is raised. But, what happens when we hit that ceiling again? There's no doubt in my mind it will happen since it has been increased 74 times since 1962 (10 increases occurring in just the last 10 years).
That being said, I think this development proves just how much trouble our economy is in. Instead of cutting spending the proper way – by doing away with unnecessary federal programs and trimming back military operations – the government is, in essence, doing itself a disservice. The long-term plan? Increase the debt limit by about $2 trillion. Are you kidding me? When is enough enough? Something needs to change and soon. Where we're at right now, I have doubts that this country will ever be able to crawl out of the hole it's in. But with talk about increasing how much money it can borrow, I just shake my head. I don't know about anyone else, but I would sure like to have a checking account that worked like that. Spend what you have, spend a little more, keep paying bills and buying things you can't afford and the bank will continue to lend you money to do so. That's definitely a dream come true … until you realize you have to pay it all back, with interest.
What really bothers me is that, if things continue the way they're going, no one is going to want to lend any money to the United States, which will put us in a real pickle. I don't want to see another Great Depression anymore than the next guy, but, if things don't change, the U.S. dollar will lose value and the country will be in a financial crisis. Thinking back to an e-mail message I received from a critic of one of my columns I wrote for the Arcadia News-Leader, I can't help but laugh. This lady made a point to say that the United States was the wealthiest country in the northern hemisphere. I guess, if wealth is measured in debt, I'm one of the richest people alive.
Jennie Oemig
Staff Writer
Trempealeau County Times
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