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Pat McGeehan on Budget & Economy |
Within 24 hours of this debt resolution sailing through the Congress, over $350 billion were borrowed--and the government's debt now officially stands well over $17 trillion. This is to say nothing of the untold trillions of dollars in unfunded liabilities the American taxpayer is expected to cover well into the future. As staggering as these numbers may be, very few in Washington DC understand the magnitude of this national dilemma.
This predicament grows even more dangerous [because the] deficit is no longer coming from real "borrowed" money. Very few foreigners are loaning money to the American government now; the largest buyer of American debt has now become the Federal Reserve.
When the Fed steps in as the "lender of last resort", and buys US government debt, new dollars are being created out of thin air. In essence, the only thing the Fed does have at its disposal is the printing-press, and this has become the new norm in Washington.
Turning to the printing-press has real consequences for the average American: massive devaluation of the dollar. As more dollars are printed-up by the Federal Reserve, the average American will find that their purchasing power will go down. This can already be seen--at the grocery store or the gas pump. In a way, this represents a tax. The inflation tax
Bailouts take money from successful business and provides their profits to their inefficient competitors. It is morally and economically wrong in a free-market system.
I never would have voted for the bank bailouts, AIG bailouts, or auto bailouts, as they are unconstitutional, and directly opposed to free-market values.
I will oppose any and all federal bailouts, and instead will fight to balance the budget, to pay down the National Debt and restore the value of the Dollar. It is time our government starts promoting responsibility and stop rewarding failure.