Cure The Budget Crisis Without Sacrificing

Clearly, the US congress has proven repeatedly and beyond doubt they are not “one of us” and are sorely out of touch with the reality of those of us who have to actually work to survive. Their inability to understand basic math, simple layman’s economics, and the consequences from when you spend more than you take in is redundantly stupefying. When I think about it, I suppose I should point out in their defense most of them have no experience in the real world.

Working in healthcare (until they shut me down recently), I heard the mantra “waste, fraud, and abuse” more times than I care to recall. However, as in my case and a few others I personally witnessed, the uneducated and unprovoked approach has been to assume that everyone in the industry is guilty, and the potential to prove innocence for those who actually are innocent has been placed out of reach. In the American healthcare system today it is far easier to be successful if you are willing to lie, cheat, or steal your way to the top. If you are honest, however, it is very difficult if not impossible navigating the cumbersome maize of bureaucracy. Without hesitation I can assure you by the simplest act of applying a small degree of common sense and good old detective work, it would be quite easy to weed out the bad apples. In fact if they were to ask nicely, everyone in that environment could tell them who is ethical and who is not.

But nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo,

The regulators just won’t listen. Instead, they continue to ignore obvious signs of wrongdoing, chase after the honest little guy who can’t defend himself, can’t collect anything because the guy they ruined didn’t have anything to give, while the villains are making off with billions and billions of dollars every year in plain sight. When a legislator or insurance salesman says medical care is becoming more expensive because of research, actual costs, labor, etc they are either stupid or lying. The real reason healthcare is so expensive is because fraud is unbounded and those who would be willing to work for reasonable rates can’t survive the dual brutality of a clueless government and unscrupulous competition.

There is a lady my wife and I know very well who manages a staffing service. She has told us that she has heard her temporary staff members several times bemoaning the fact that they still need to have one or two more babies so they can quit working and let the government pay for all their food, housing, and living expenses. It’s just too terrible a burden to have to work until they may be almost thirty years old before they can have enough kids to “retire” courtesy of the working contingent of our country. Our friend is rightfully insulted. She and her husband carefully made their life plan when they married and stuck to it. Education first. Then solid and reliable careers, pay off college loans and debt, then finally have the family they always dreamed of. It can be done, and they could still be young enough to enjoy their lives yet mature enough to make the absolute best of all worlds.

After eight years of marriage, it is still only the two of them but they have met their goals, and are looking forward to that family they have worked so hard to earn. In addition, they also faithfully continue to support those who surround them who are not willing to contribute to society. We are all paying for those who prefer to sacrifice dignity, ethics, morals, etc., because they know they can get everything for free.

Of course, there are many, many families and individuals who have fallen on hard times without a safety net that should have somewhere to turn. There are a great number of those who would gladly take jobs that others consider beneath them in order to support their families. For example, any disabled United States war veteran. How many of them fought in wars they DIDN’T believe in because they DID believe in their duty to God, family, country, or something similar? They go, they become disabled, come home, and are kicked to the curb by the government in favor of encouraging freeloaders instead of heroes.

In short, it would take such a very, very short time to completely and painlessly strengthen the financial ledger in the US if:
• We quit sticking our nose in everyone else’s business
• Stopped screaming “war” at the drop of a hat
• Actually let the government services designed to weed out fraud do their job and teach them how to do it right
• Placed redundant, non-necessary, and unproductive government agencies on a rapid extinction list
• Stopped stealing money from the seniors who have paid their share into the Medicare program
• And quit paying so many people to stand around shamelessly with their hand held out and not willing to at least try to earn their way
For those who cannot survive financially for legitimate reasons, we need to be there. That is what the programs were/should be for, but I fear the percentage of honest claims for assistance is miniscule. There is no legitimate argument disputing the fact that if our government were a business and the system actually worked, the US would have been in bankruptcy and a large number of our politicians would be in prison.

Getting too wound up, so I’m done.

It’s a simple question really.

Where is the common sense and decency this country’s leadership so ubiquitously and hypocritically preaches to the world?

reply to post by samstone11


As the current meme suggests; "Common sense is so rare, it might as well be classified as a super power."

Common sense doesn't exist anymore. Practical applications towards our fiscal issues don't exist anymore.

Drastic changes require drastic events as a precursor.

In my humble opinion.

reply to post by beezzer

Dang, Beez. Looking at all your contributions, I'm honored you took time for little ole me.

Seriously, I must admit that everything you said is accurate and in my opinion at or near the top of all our woes. I absolutely believe a good dose of common sense could go a long ways towards killing what aches us.

Good observations.

reply to post by samstone11


Me? I'm just a mouthy, opinionated nut.

We've elected irrational people. Common sense won't penetrate their level of stupidity.

Originally posted by beezzer

We've elected irrational people. Common sense won't penetrate their level of stupidity.

What "elections"?

Are you referring to those events that frequently require no ID? Are you referring to those events where we use easily reprogrammed "voting" machines? Are you referring to those events where the exit polling does not agree with the election "results"? Are you referring to events where people willingly come forward and admit they voted multiple times?

Originally posted by jcarpenter

Originally posted by beezzer

We've elected irrational people. Common sense won't penetrate their level of stupidity.

What "elections"?

Are you referring to those events that frequently require no ID? Are you referring to those events where we use easily reprogrammed "voting" machines? Are you referring to those events where the exit polling does not agree with the election "results"? Are you referring to events where people willingly come forward and admit they voted multiple times?

Point taken.

The key to saving America is States Rights. What little common sense left in American politics can be found there. Sure, It is like looking for a needle in a haystack in some states, It is however our only hope. It is no coincidence that once a politician makes it to the Federal level they become wealthy. America is being sacked just like Rome was sacked. With no budget they can pillage all they like. Washington is a boom town. A place where they pay cash for 200k cars, cash for 3 million dollar homes. The media and Hollywood are part and parcel of the sacking of America. They vilify business and profit to avert attention away from their bulging pockets.

Well its going to get worse before it gets better.

After these next four years the democrats will have successfully created a permanent welfare class that will continuously vote them in power.

The odds of anyone other than a progressive liberal ever seeing the inside of the White House again are slim to none. People want their easy life on the government dole.

People with personal responsibility are a dying breed in this country.