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Sedgwick County is not alone in its request. Actually, there are nearly 500 political subdivisions with more than 100,000 people across the U.S. that likely have their hand out. It is not surprising as members of Congress continue to send enormous amounts of funding to the states to do things local governments should be doing for themselves. Do we really want the federal government to do more, tax more, spend more and control more? Why has everything under the sun become a federal issue?
The majority of both mainstream political parties seem to just go with the flow. You know the cycle: The nation approaches the latest debt limit. There are renewed threats of “shutting the government down” coupled with anxiety and fear, especially from those who depend on monthly support. At the last possible moment, Congress musters the votes to raise the debt ceiling just enough to buy a little more time. The proverbial ‘kick the can down the road’ phrase definitely fits this pattern.
Likewise, rather than pass a balanced budget, Congress just does what they always do - pass another “Continuing Resolution”. Of course, additional spending on new problems or pet projects always finds a way into the proposal.
The U.S. is approaching $35,000,000,000,000 in debt now. (That's $35 trillion!) New data from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget shows that roughly 39 cents of every dollar paid in federal income taxes is paid out as interest on the debt. This is not sustainable.
Most people feel their taxes are too high (and I agree), but considering the massive debt based on upside down budgets, excessive borrowing and pumping newly printed dollars into the economy, we still clamor for more and more spending. This is plain insanity. These truths, when taken together, show the unrealistic and irresponsible behavior of our people and our elected leaders.
We need to wake up. There must be a limit on how long these trends can continue. We need to speak up, and we must demand change.
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