Once again we find ourselves in the same old situation. Soon we’ll all be hearing about “hostage takers,” and how the world will end if we don’t raise the debt ceiling.
On Sunday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told CBS’ “Face the Nation” that he made it clear in November that the GOP “won’t shut down the government, or default on our debt.”
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
While this might be welcomed news to some Americans, others wonder why we even bothered to vote in the 2104 mid-term elections. Didn’t we vote for candidates who promised to curb our nation’s out of control spending? Weren’t we promised that a Republican-controlled Congress was the only way to eliminate wasteful spending?
In fact, it was Senator McConnell who promised, during a radio interview on October 28, 2014 with Hugh Hewitt, “We will be able to control the budget, how much we’re going to spend, and we will push back against the bureaucratic incompetence and overreach through the funding process of the federal government.” Well, that was quite a turnaround in such a short period of time. This is exactly what the American people are fed up with, politicians who sound tough on the campaign trail, yet consistently let us down when the cards are on the table.
Let’s take a look at where we stand today. The country is staring down an ever increasing debt that currently stands at over $18 trillion dollars. On Monday, NASDAQ reported that the Congressional Budget Office had just increased its projection of the 2015 budget deficit to $486 billion dollars. That means that the deficit will be 73% of the Gross Domestic Product in the fiscal year. To put that into perspective, it will be more than double the amount it was in 2007. So just exactly when can we expect anyone in Congress to take this seriously? Well, let’s not hold our collective breaths.
On Sunday, McConnell also made a telling statement when he said, “The American public wants us to look at what we can agree on.” Really? Is this what the Senate Majority Leader took away from the November, 2014 elections?
Let me help you out Mitch, the American people want you to fight for fiscal responsibility. They went to the polls with the hopes that somebody in Washington would actually start fighting for them. Now, the folks on the other side of the aisle, well, they want you to look at what you can agree on. But they are no longer in power. So get out your phone, and get out your pen, and do something already!
