Recently, H.J.RES.45 was passed by both the Senate and the House of Representatives. This resolution increased the limit on the public debt. When I read this piece of legislation, I grow concerned. I don’t know a single entity responsible for money that would increase your credit limit if you can’t pay off your current debts. To me, H.J.RES.45 is the equivalent of having debt on one credit card that I am not able to pay and applying for another credit card that I can’t pay. It makes absolutely no sense.
Recently, we have had huge government investments. I wonder if the tax payer is getting a return on these investments. We bailed out major industries that were in trouble. We had the economic stimulus package. I question the return we are getting on the investments.
Controlling the national debt needs to be a serious discussion for the American people. Congress and the American people need to take a look at our expenditures and seriously ask if these are merited. If there are expenses that are unnecessary, we need to get rid of them. I would not even call this concept finance 101, I would call it remedial finance, or the prerequisite to what one needs to know to take Finance 101. This is the sort of thing households do when they experience debt if they want to recover. When I run into financial trouble, this is the sort of thing I do. There are many competing interests that want government money for this or that. However, if we are going to get out of debt, we need to assign priorities to projects or ideas that require investing tax-payer’s dollars. Some investments are worthwhile and others can and should be discarded. Congress and the American people should address this issue.