Along for the Ride

The framers of this great country believed in limited government. The size of our government is important for many reasons. Three reasons that are on the top of the list for many Americans are taxes, spending and regulation We do need government to protect property and rights to life but beyond that, big out of control government like we have today starts to cut in to our civil liberties and our prosperity .

Thomas Jefferson said "If we can but prevent the government from wasting the labours of the people, under the pretence of taking care of them, they must become happy."

Let's look at the national debt. I'll start with John F. Kennedy because he's the first president I can Identify with. In 1963 the national debt was 305 billion. It first rose to 1 trillion in Ronald Reagan's first year. That might have been the point of no return because now it sits at 22 trillion, soon to be 25 trillion with our new administration's proposed budget. The biggest culprit being Barack Hussein Obama who increased it by 10 trillion in eight short years. George W coming in second with 5 trillion in his 8 years.

Now I'm not preaching a message here that hasn't already been preached but the bigger the government the bigger the appetite. So how do they feed that big appetite?

They go for your wallet and we all know what happens next . Do this, sit down and make a list of things in your everyday walk through life that doesn't have a tax on it. Let me know what you come up with LOL.

A lot can be attributed to wasteful government spending.

Washington spends $25 billion annually maintaining unused or vacant federal properties.

The refusal of many federal employees to fly coach costs taxpayers $146 million annually in flight upgrades.

Members of Congress have spent hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars supplying their offices with popcorn machines, plasma televisions, DVD equipment, ionic air fresheners, camcorders, and signature machines -- plus $24,730 leasing a Lexus, $1,434 on a digital camera, and $84,000 on personalized calendars.

Hold on to your wallets for the next two.

The government spent $518,000 in federal grants to study how cocaine affects the sexual behavior of Japanese quails.

$2.6 million training Chinese prostitutes to drink more responsibly on the job.

And these are just a few of many. You can go to heritage.org/governmentspending if you want check to see how well your blood pressure meds are working.

Let's switch over to Social Security, something hard working Americans have been paying into all their working lives. Right now Social Security is on a path to run dry by 2035. Why you ask?

“Last night while you were sleeping the Senate voted to steal $150 billion dollars from the Social Security Trust Fund. I joined 34 of my colleagues in a vote to prevent this raid. I would like to thank Senator Rand Paul for leading the fight to protect to Social Security from the thieves in Washington, who seem to think that if they steal from the American people at night while they are sleeping that they will get away with it.”

— US Senator Mike Lee, October 30, 2015

“The government has borrowed more from the Social Security surplus than it has from any other source in the world, including China. As a result, Social Security now “owns” nearly 18 percent of the federal debt, making it the largest single holder of US debt. The government owes almost twice as much to Social Security as it does to China and Hong Kong. Why aren’t the opponents worried about paying back Social Security — why aren’t they talking about repaying this debt to the American people?”

— US Senator Don Riegle, April 5, 2011

“In 1983, Congress raised the payroll tax rate that funds Social Security benefits to prepare for the retirement of the baby boom generation. Much to my disappointment, however, the actual cash surplus from the excess payroll taxes, amounting to $2.4 trillion including interest over the last 25 years, was borrowed from the Trust Fund and used to support government spending on other programs.

— US Senator Mike Enzi

Congress has been taking money from the Social Security Trust Fund for years and I'm sorry to say the geese have flown south.

Ronald Reagan once said " the scariest words in the english language are, “Hi I'm from the Federal Government and I'm here to help."

The congressional approval rating today sits at fifteen percent the lowest in American history, and they wonder why. Folks big government is driving a big bus with the American people along for the ride and that bus is speeding towards the edge of the Grand Canyon and the brakes are wearing thin. We need to remove that bus driver and take the wheel.

Written by Walt Ryba January 28, 2021