Sunday Musing

I've been thinking about the S&P downgrade of the US credit rating, and I've been doing a little reading, and it seems that what I believed earlier is basically correct, with one important caveat.

It's time for the US Government to start saying no to some people. Entitlement spending needs to be cut, and certain persons need to be weaned from the government teat. We don't have to do it today, but we need to do it over the next few years or risk another downgrade, or series of downgrades. It's becoming increasingly apparent that we're no longer able to afford those people who can't take responsibility for their own problems.

I'm not talking about cutting off the old folks, I believe that someone who's worked all his life should be able to draw the Social Security he's paid. I am talking about the neer-do-wells that we've been supporting over the years. Why, for example, should someone believe that if they have a child next year they are entitled to have any government assistance? Free or subsidized housing? Emergency room visits? No, that's your child. You pay for it. Free or reduced price school lunches? Not happening. He's your kid, you feed him.

We don't have to do this tomorrow, but we've got to do it. It's going to be hard, but we simply cannot afford to subsidize people who won't learn to work, to study for a trade, to learn to take care of themselves. It's tough, but it's the only way to avoid further financial problems.

This graph from Heritage.org gives us the magnitude of the problem we're facing.

During last week's budget crisis, entitlements were off the table. We talked a lot about discretionary spending, but entitlements were off the table. After the bills were passed and the President signed them, we got the downgrade. This morning, the President of Standard and Poor's, David Beers told Fox News Sunday that the downgrade was based on rising debt. Our entitlements are on auto-pilot and eventually we'll not be able to afford them.

Even with the debt limit agreement passed by Congress, he said, "the underlying debt burden of the U.S. is rising and will continue to rise over the next decade."

That's what we need to tackle next. Entitlements.

Again, I'm not talking about the old folks. I'm talking about the poor folks who refuse to raise themselves from poverty. We've got plenty of education systems, plenty of trade schools, plenty of opportunities for people to take responsibility for themselves. If they refuse to join the American experiment, there is no reason that we should subsidize them. Let 'em starve. I've got no money to waste on them.