Balancing the National Budget

As President Obama and Congress keep the financial woes of the country locked in partisan politics many are concerned for senior citizens, the handicapped and our military because of threats to stop cutting checks to Social Security, Medicare, and government payrolls.

Wait a minute. There's a better way. When personal finances get a little tight, do folks cut out basic needs such as food and housing? No. They start cutting the extras, and nobody can legitimately call Social Security an extra or an entitlement. We, and our employers, have paid into it our whole working lives, and if President Lyndon Johnson had just left it alone and not put the money into the General Fund, there would be no shortfall for Social Security.

And to even consider cutting military pay and benefits is an outrage. If the government can't find a way to pay them, then bring them all home.

So again, I call for cuts at the top of the budget, starting with Congressional benefits that include free healthcare, outrageous salaries and retirement packages, and more paid holidays than the average worker. And by the way, they voted to receive their annual raise this year, while Social Security increases have been frozen because there has been no increase in the cost of living. Or so they say. Obviously, they have not shopped at my supermarket.

Another huge savings could be made if we stopped sending so much aid to other countries. Sure, we should step up when there has been a disaster, but do we have to send billions of dollars? And the billions we are sending to countries that have had no recent disasters - like the funds going to Pakistan - should be stopped. I know we are trying to buy their loyalty, but have we?

Come on, Washington. Be smart about getting us out of this financial mess, and creating more debt is not the answer.

Friday's Odds and Ends

Somebody recently opined in a letter to the editor in The Dallas Morning News that teachers are overpaid. He said the average pay is $53 thousand and change, and that there is little to show for it.

First of all, that figure is not the norm. Most teachers make between $30 and $40 thousand - some even less. And they work long hard hours for that pay. If results aren't what people expect, maybe it has more to do with the work ethic of the students and not the teachers.

Earlier this year the government announced that there would be no cost of living increase in Social Security payments. The reasoning was that there has not been a significant increase in the cost of living.

Excuse me, but what about the fact that it now costs $80.00 for four bags of groceries that cost $60 last year. And now we have gas prices going out of sight.

Recently the House voted to cut funding for NPR, which received $5 million in federal funds in 2010.

As if that is really going to significantly impact the federal budget. I'm going to say this again, and continue to say it until somebody in Washington pays attention, CUT SPENDING FROM THE TOP. Sorry about the shout, but it would be so easy to fix the federal budget if we streamlined agencies and administration. Just streamlining the IRS would save hundreds of millions a year. The top agents make annual salaries in the high six figures, with entry level starting at about $50 thousand. And just recently it was announced that the IRS is requesting 1054 new staff members that will cost about $359 million in salaries and offices.

Glenn Beck just couldn't let the tsunami go by without saying it is part of God's plan to punish mankind for how we are behaving. Never mind that the Japanese people have responded with the utmost dignity and character, so what exactly are they being punished for?

Despite the floods and fires and swarms of locusts cited in the Old Testament, I do not believe that the God I believe in would use disasters to punish His people. Stuff happens because it happens, not because God wants to teach us a lesson. The lesson comes from within as we deal with tragedy and disaster.

What have you found of interest in the news this week?