How Hard is it to Balance the Budget?

In my previous post I quoted Rousas Rushdoony, who argued that we are never truly free; one reason is that our personal expenses are constrained by our salaries. That is, if I make $25,000 a year, I can spend only that. I have to live within my means. I can't spend more than I earn. Of course, hundreds of thousands of people live outside their means every year. I'm sure you know people like that (maybe you are one of them) and even a fifth grader can see where that gets us.

Another guilty party is our national government. Congress always spends more than it brings in (I almost typed in "earned" there, but remembered at the last moment that the government never earns anything. It only takes from YOU what YOU earn), and it never balances the budget. But our family does. My coworkers do. Our church family does. All our friends do. Why can't the government?

All these things relate to our liberty. Why?

Consider this: if the government balanced its budget every year, can you imagine our freedom? First, the government wouldn't have to come looking for new taxes, and second, you and I would be free to spend the money the government currently takes from us. Third, future generations of Americans would not be saddled with the tremendous debt they face right now. In case you were wondering, your family's current share of the national debt is over $500,000. Finally, our national government (and by extension, you and I) will not be so entangled with China, which owns 22% of U.S. Treasury Securities. In case you were wondering, China is still a communist nation. . . .

And in case you were also wondering, most of the 50 states have some sort of balance-the-budget amendment. Yours probably does. Why won't the national government do the same thing? Most Americans support it, and for good reason. It only makes sense, and it's right.

Is it easy? No. Amending the Constitution isn't easy, and those who wrote it wanted it to be difficult so that we wouldn't do it that often. But can we do it? Sure we can. It's been done before--27 times, in fact! Perhaps it's time you contact your legislators to advocate for some sanity and fiscal responsibility in our budgetary process.

One thing's for sure: the amount your family is responsible for isn't going to go down on its own, and it certainly won't do so anytime soon--if at all.

Please follow this link to learn more about balancing the national budget.