WHAT'S THE REAL STORY BEHIND THE DEBT CRISIS

Are we focused on the real problem in Washington: is it raising the debt limit? Going into default, losing our AAA Credit Rating, lack of a balanced budget, too much spending, not enough taxes or the culture of the way Washington does business? I say the underlying cause of all problems is the culture in the way Washington conducts business... Washington does little to fix problems; it’s all about politics and getting re-elected... Just look at the shenanigans of the past week. Speaker Boehner tells the members of Congress to “get in line’. He states “I’m sticking my neck out”. Majority Leader, Harry Reid states “It’s dead on arrival”. He tables debate. There has been no budget for over 800 days. The President says everyone should act like adults and should work out a compromise while using scare tactics to meet an August 2nd deadline. Is that the way Washington is suppose to work? Maybe Speaker Boehner needs to get in line. Why did he want the job? Maybe we need to ask Steve Wynn why he supported Harry Reid while calling out the President on the economy. Mr. Wynn is partially responsible for our problems by promoting and funding Harry Reid’s re-election. The President hasn’t presented a plan and has shown little or no leadership. He thinks his job is campaigning. Is that what we want from Washington?

The elections of 2010 provided a ray of hope. When was the last time someone stood up to the Speaker and said “NO”? Well it’s happening and it’s about time. The members of Congress and the Senate should be tired of the Republican and Democratic Leadership going behind closed doors and emerging to tell them how to vote. We didn’t elect “YES Men” we sent people to Washington to solve problems. Everyone should have an opportunity to put their two cents on the table. Supposedly Connie Mack and Rand Paul have a proposal to trim spending by 1%, each year, over 6 or 7 years. Why hasn’t that proposal come up? The leaders keep saying there must be compromise. I say “FIX THE PROBLEM, Look out Of the Box’. Under the present situation politicians are acting like politicians... We need more input from the statesmen. One of the problems is that the Republicans control the House while the Democrats control both the Senate and White House. Is that a good enough reason not to work together and cause a stalemate? When the Democrats controlled all three, they did nothing to fix the problems. The people are sick of the game playing and politics. Moody’s presented comments on what needs to be done to save the AAA Credit Rating, why hasn’t the leadership been responsive to these prompts? Too me the priority should be to save the AAA Credit Rating and prevent defaults by cutting spending... Is it necessary to raise the debt limit to create more debt? I don’t think so. We need to find ways to start paying down the debt, not increasing it.

I don’t know if there will be a happy ending to this story. Whatever happens will be debated and argued for months to come. What I do know is that we must continue the change that we started in 2010. We must elect people who will stand up and fight for what’s right and solve problems. We don’t need “YES MEN” who will bow to a leadership that has been corrupted by a culture that has begun to destroy the freedoms, liberties and financial stability of the United States of America...

TIME TO PUT UP OR SHUT UP

What bugs me about the current deficit situation is that Government can’t find any money to cut. Everything is critical, too important. I disagree, look around, what about all the fraud that is taking place in federal programs, how about subsidies, money we give to Greece, Brazil,UN the IMF. We pour money into the Middle East and we don’t know who’s getting it. GM pays no taxes and Immelt asks why people complain about government. I wonder why? Billions are given to illegal’s who won’t learn English or respect our customs. We won’t drill or mine. Washington is destroying jobs not creating jobs... Government salaries and benefits increase while they talk of cutting Social Security and Medicare, Will the sky fall? Yes, Social Security and Medicare is a problem and needs to be fixed, so what are they doing about it, nothing. Talk, talk and more talk. We give billions in bailouts with no results. We want everyone to own a home they can’t afford than subsidize the mortgages. Washington wants to tax the rich while 50% of the population pays no taxes. I understand there are people in need, but 50%. We punish people for thrift and ingenuity while rewarding people who look to government for support. What a mess. The late Everett Dirksen once said when you take a million from here and a billion from there you begin to talk real money. We’re talking real money folks. Why can’t Washington see the waste?

Washington is all about politics. They are destroying the country. If you want to campaign, do it on your own time, not my dime. How can you solve problems when you measure everything in votes? In 2010 the people sent a message to clean up the mess. Well, the mess is getting worse and 2012 is still some time away. When will our elected officials learn that they work for the country not themselves, special interest or their party? The hot air floating around is ready to explode.. It’s more about ambiguity than substance. How can you resolve problems when you don’t even know why you’re in Washington? Why did you take an oath? Why did you run for office? Like the kids in the neighborhood used to say, “TIME TO PUT UP OR SHUT UP”.