Is California the start?

If you have not paid much attention the State of California is at the edge of the cliff and is ready to take a dive into the abyss.

According to reports the state faces a deficit of over $42 billion. The state has had to stop some public service type projects and delay paying tax refunds due to the latest crisis.

After a 30 hour session trying to pass legislation that will cut into the deficit the state senate is still one vote shy of having the required 2/3 majority to pass. The senate needs the votes of 3 republicans and apparently, they are not willing to cooperate.

What is the sticking point? Well it seems along with deep budget cuts there is also a rather hefty tax increase. This is something that the Republicans in the senate see as a deal breaker.

On strict principals I must side with these republicans. But given the fact that I may get an IOU for my tax refund in the coming weeks may be I should rethink that position. Nah.

Both the federal government and those at the state level have avoided this issue for far too long. The issue of spending more than you are taking in. Now that the overall economy is on the rocks everyone is feeling the pinch...and it hurts like hell.

WE THE PEOPLE have allowed our elected officials to take us down this path. We should have been in near revolt over some of the spending that has been allowed to be passed by state legislatures and that of the federal government. But we sat idly by and did nothing. We let the spending on frivolous research projects, projects for the arts and yes...even education go unchecked and unquestioned. WE THE PEOPLE have allowed the frivolous spending that is in the current stimulus package to go through congress with out so much as a whimper.

Question...how many of you even contacted your elected Representatives in the House or Senate and let them know how you feel about the stimulus package? All of the polls said that only about 1/3 of the population favored the thing. The phones in the capital should have been ringing off the hook. The capital email servers should have been shutdown due to the high volume of incoming emails. As far as I heard, none of that happened. So once again we sit back and do absolutely nothing. Oh we will whine and complain when our taxes are raised. We will complain about the pork spending that congress does. But we will not stop and say a darned word. To make matters worse we re-elect these people to office and then act surprised when all we see is more of the same.

During the presidential campaign then candidate Obama said that he would not allow pork spending. Well Mr. President, look at the bill you are about to sign and tell me what you see.

Now to top it all off someone else has come forward to ask for their piece of the stimulus money. Guess who? The United Nations. Are you kidding me? This is the nation that pours more money into third world countries than any other. An earthquake hits...we send money. A flood happens...the American people are there. Yes I said the American people...that would be WE THE PEOPLE. It is not through the federal government only that money is sent to these places that are hard hit. It is from the Red Cross and other like organizations where WE THE PEOPLE give our hard earned dollars to help people. Now the UN wants 0.7% of the total stimulus package. That is over $5 billion taxpayer dollars to go to another of the most bureaucratic and wasteful, not to mention corrupt, organizations out there. Hey...can I give the answer to the UN for us. You can kiss our ass. You are never there to help us so you can take your request for $5 billion and put it where the sun don't shine.

Look, I am getting side tracked here.

We have went down this road of social spending for far too long. I am all for giving help to those that are in need. There was a time a few years ago where I collected unemployment for over a year and where if it weren't for my church I don't think we would have made it. But there were LIMITS. We can't just give out money for welfare and other things on an endless bases. We can help yes. But in the end that means that those receiving help must also help themselves. Right now we make it too easy to sit back and relax on the backs of those of us who are working and paying taxes. I can't speak for all the taxpayers but my back hurts.

It is time we started forcing those elected in Washington and in state governments to do what each of us has to do...live within our means. You can't spend it if you ain't go it.

Yes, this is going to hurt...really bad. But in the end our children will be much better off. We might see a little relief ourselves.