The government’s credit card is way, way over its limit, and too few people are even taking note.
Does anybody even care that America is $57 trillion in debt?
Unfortunately, the overspending is sure to continue, now that President Barack Obama recently signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2012. Basically, the Act signed on New Year’s Eve of 2011 calls for giving $662 billion to the Department of Defense and a measly $77 billion to the Department of Education.
Oddly, this staggering amount of money for defense wasn’t even the major concern of those who could be heard crying in the halls of Washington after the act was signed. The crybabies were angered and worried over sub-sections 1021 and 1022 under Title X, Subtitle D, entitled “Counter Terrorism.” The language in these provisions allows the United States Armed Forces to detain citizens indefinitely without trial after they commit a “belligerent act” or engage in hostilities against the U.S. or its coalition partners.
In so many words, if the government finds that it simply doesn’t like what you’re doing or suspects that you are anti-American, it can throw you in jail for as long as they want while they look at the situation.
These provisions have been hyped up as First Amendment-robbing weapons of socialism, when, in reality, they amount to nothing more than extensions of previous American defense policy.
The real tragedy that has come out of the NDAA is another sure fire year of grandiose military spending by the Defense Department, and despite cuts made by President Obama from last year’s budget, military spending is increasing the total debt of the United States. This is unacceptable.
This debt will not just disappear once the generation currently in government dies off. It will haunt every future lawmaker, government leader and public employee, as well as the nation’s economy as a whole. Teens must realize that America is spending more money than it can even imagine to be taking in right now as a federal government. Yet America continues to underfund other cabinet departments, specifically the Department of Education.
No single party is responsible for the rampant overspending and shortsightedness that all of Washington is guilty of. The debt has been escalating for 10 years.
So where do we go from here? Rather than cutting student loans, Social Security and subsidized housing, the federal government needs to take responsibility for the fine mess it is leaving the next generation.
It needs to curb military spending, rather than allowing the public focus to sway towards fear-mongered controversy and away from the real problem. We have a reactionary financial policy from an irresponsible government.
President Obama and subsequent presidents need to spend more effort balancing the books at home, rather than prepping the barracks abroad.
With 2012 upon us, and the president up for re-election, it is time for the federal government to begin unprecedented spending cuts and to entertain the idea of raising taxes. Instead of fussing about citizens being detained indefinitely, young Americans should be focused on being broke, definitely.