Abolish Deficit Spending!

The current major fiscal collapse was largely triggered by the banks using a new formula which allowed them to loan money based on estimates of future inflated worth. Our government does essentially the same thing. In Oklahoma, for instance, the current budget can be based on estimates of next year's sales tax and income tax revenues!

The federal government's budget is not limited to expected government income. In this way we yearly spend money we do not have, which is the definition of deficit spending. They obligate future citizens to pay for it. How did we come to give the government permission to carry out such a foolish and dangerous policy? Isn't it obvious what a disaster is ahead of us? We got a taste of it when only the banks spent money they didn't have. What will happen when the entire economy is based on such inflated valuations AND THEY COME DUE?

Every year the mint prints more paper money, which is cleverly no longer based on a gold standard. Since there is no real formula equating (amount of paper money) to (gross national product), the value of a dollar bill is both arbitrary and decreasing. More money printed for the same value equals inflation, which is the decrease in value of each dollar bill. Such a decrease in value amounts to a hidden tax, costing each citizen the amount the dollar decreases in value due to inflation.

What if the government was prohibited from deficit spending? Our legislators would be limited in spending an amount based on last year's taxes, for instance. If some urgent project required more money than was in the budget, they would then have to do what all of us citizens have to do in such circumstances: get a loan OR raise their income. Getting a loan means to add a fixed repayment amount to subtract from next year's budget, just as all us citizens have to do. Raising their income would mean they would have to raise taxes for next year, and for that they should need a special vote from the general population of voters. We would have a direct say in what the government would be allowed to spend over its current income. If we said "No", they would have to abandon the project until such a time as it could be afforded. Just as we citizens have to do.

Our dollars would not be decreasing steadily in value. Our taxes would be clearly related directly to the things we as a people wanted our money spent on. Our government would be directly accountable for its fiscal behavior and would have to answer to us for what they spent. They probably won't want to do that. No, scratch the "probably".

I think we should demand that deficit spending be prohibited and that the government should live within its budget. I don't for ONE MOMENT believe that anyone in government will vote in congress assembled to limit their spending unless we force them to, and I don't really see how to do that. Any ideas?