Despite the plethora of talk radio and TV commentary shows. No one except Glenn Beck is questioning if the way Congress and president Obama are spending money and grabbing powers that are not delegated to him in the Constitution, whether or not our once strong and proud Republic will fail and we will loose our personal freedom to a "nanny" state?
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently warned Congress, again, that the trajectory of the federal budget is on an unsustainable course.[v] For fiscal years 2009 and 2010, the federal government will reach the largest deficits--annual budget short falls--as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) since the close of World War II.[vi] The national debt--the sum of all previous deficits--is set to reach 60 percent of GDP by the end of fiscal year 2010.[vii] The CBO warns that these "Large budget deficits would reduce national savings, leading to more borrowing from abroad and less domestic investment, which in turn would depress economic growth in the United States. Over time, the accumulation of debt would seriously harm the economy."
A country burdened by such a massive debt must be dependent on foreign Countries to support that debt, and some who now hold our "paper" are not what I would call friends. Communist China for example!
While the deficit and debt is driven largely by entitlement spending--Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security--the proposed spending by the Youth PROMISE Act and all other new programs being advocated in Congress only move the nation closer to fiscal insolvency. Not including "such sums as necessary" authorizations for the PROMISE Implementation Grants (Section 215) and "Mynisha's Law" (Section 505), the five-year cost of the Act is just shy of $1.3 billion from fiscal years 2010 to 2014. However, the version of the Youth PROMISE Act from the 110th Congress (H.R. 3864) set the budget authority for the Implementation Grants at $2 billion per year. Therefore, a more credible estimate of the cost of the act is $11.3 billion from fiscal years 2010 to 2014. This estimate does not include the cost of "Mynisha's Law" that funds comprehensive gang prevention and relief areas.
Too often, the focus of Congress and grant-making bureaus is the easy and wide dissemination of grants to constituents. As a result, the number of mediocre programs funded under the Youth PROMISE Act will vastly outnumber the number of exceptional programs receiving funding. In addition, the Office of Justice Programs has had difficulty monitoring and evaluating grant-funded programs to ensure that the funding is not being wasted.
Congress should contemplate the fact that government's intervention in the lives of youth can cause more harm than good. SOURCE:THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION
Then we have the distinct possibility of a militarist Russia as was demonstrated by the presence of at least two Akula class nuclear submarines two hundred miles off the coast of Georgia. Who knows how close they came to our coast line only GOD knows!
To combat the threat of a belligerent Putin led Russia,a nuclear North Korea, and a very soon nuclear Iran. We must have the best available nuclear and stealth submarines in the world.
Most countries have the missile capability of destroying any surface ships we send to combat any aggressor, but the nuclear sub can deliver more fire power than a fleet of air force bombers, by launching it's nuclear missiles.
Unfortunately many of our first line attack submarines are old by today's standards.
The U.S. submarine fleet has declined by 41 percent in just a decade. Only by upholding the long-held SSN standard and moving to a two-per-year built rate by the next fiscal year will the Navy's submarine fleet meet combatant commander requirements that have only increased since 9/11.
The Heritage foundation's recommendation to the Defense Department is that Congress appropriate monies for one new SSN submarine be built in 2010 and then two be built each year after until our submarine fleet is capable of defending our freedom and our allies, if we still have any!
The U.S. Navy's requirement for its undersea fleet is 48 nuclear attack submarines (SSNs); however, the backbone of this fleet, the Los Angeles-class boat, is aging quickly, while overall SSN numbers are projected to drop to the low 40s by the 2020s
If we have 3 billion dollars to spend on supporting the automobile dealers in the "clunkers" scheme, we sure should have enough money to defend ourselves when, not if, an enemy attacks the USA! One Virginia class submarine costs 3.4 billion dollars, and they last a lot longer than any car, and will save us when we need saving!
If Congress doesn't stop spending like our tax dollars are MONOPOLY money, the days of freedom from oppressive taxation and Federal Government regulations will come to a grinding halt, and we will be like any other third World Country whose citizens rely on government largess for scraps of our daily bread!!