Let's address spending problem
By The Bakersfield Californian
A recent TV news segment on the U.S. debt caught my attention. The debt clock was spinning at $16.4 trillion and climbing higher with each passing second. President Obama wants to raise the debt ceiling, yet many in Congress and a majority of Americans polled recently believe that we have a spending problem in Washington that is completely out of control.
In 2012, total revenue was $2.4 trillion and total spending was $3.5 trillion. In fact, the federal deficit has run over $1 trillion every year since fiscal year 2009. Unless the Senate passes a budget (which it hasn't had the courage to do in nearly four years) that cuts spending, our debt bill will continue to grow at an alarming rate. Yet Democratic leaders have said that more taxes need to be raised. I don't agree. There is so much waste, fraud and duplication of services in our bloated federal government. Why aren't these areas addressed?
Every man, woman and child in the United States owes $52,000 if the federal debt bill were to be paid off today. I don't know about you, but I don't have $52,000 to send to Washington. President Obama and Democratic lawmakers will not admit, let alone address, our nation's spending problem. Our debt is the greatest challenge of our time, yet President Obama will push for gun control legislation, the expansion of green energy and other diversions in hopes of keeping us distracted. As our politicians continue to spend more money than they take in, keep your eye on that debt clock and demand that Washington stop spending money that it does not have.
Susan Guerard
Bakersfield
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