Citizens constantly hear the call for bipartisanship from whinny politicians looking to divert blame away from their culture of do-nothingness, and from a left-leaning media hoping Republicans, which they view mostly as irrelevant, kooky pests, will come over to the left side of the aisle in the name of “cooperation”. But, as much as we hear these misguided pleas, gridlock and personal-attack politics between Democrats and Republicans mostly remain the standard of the day…except on one issue -- spending taxpayer money.
As congress contemplates a $700 billion bank bailout, there has been little quibbling between the parties. The Democrat-controlled congress seems to be in unprecedented agreement with the Republican Bush administration. Oh, there have been a few descending voices, especially from the right, but for the most part both branches of the government are eager to write off an jaw-dropping chuck of taxpayer money. Never before have we witnessed such a love-fest between Bush and the liberal-controlled congress.
To put $700 billion in perspective, the national debt is about $9.2 trillion. We spend over $400 billion per year servicing interest on the national debt. This bail out would be equal to 8% of the enormous national debt that has been built every year since the 1970s. The federal budget is about $2.9 trillion dollars. The $700 billion bail out would be equal to about 24% of the federal budget.
To put the proposed bailout into individual terms, if you have a total personal debt (mortgage, car loans, credit cards, etc.) of $250,000 (this is reasonable since the median home price in the US is about $212,000), the bail out would represent a one-time payout of $20,000. I don’t know about you, but I think most middle class families would have a tough time dumping $20,000.
Thinking of the bailout in terms of income, the median household income in the US is about $50,000. If you had a $50,000 household budget, this bailout would be the equivalent of dishing out $12,000.
Whether the number is $12,000, $20,000, or $700 billion, the point is that it’s a big number relative to US government finances. Republicans and Democrats both belly-up-to-the-bar when it comes to spending taxpayer money. Republicans claim to be fiscally conservative, but seem to rarely live up to their tough talk in practice. George Bush, a supposed conservative who’s run up record spending and record deficits is a great example of the lip-service-only philosophy politicians of both parties seem to exhibit towards fiscal responsibility once they get to Washington. When it comes to politicians in practice, there seems to be no such thing as fiscal responsibility, regardless of party. Democrats don’t even bother to pretend to have fiscal responsibility. Their party platform for years has been based on reckless spending and redistribution of wealth in an attempt to buy votes with give-away programs. Their party-first philosophy gives no thought to the ramifications of their actions on the welfare of the nation. I’ve come to expect fiscal irresponsibility from Democrats. However, I expected more from our so-called free market-loving, fiscally conservative Republican leaders.
As congress contemplates a $700 billion bank bailout, there has been little quibbling between the parties. The Democrat-controlled congress seems to be in unprecedented agreement with the Republican Bush administration. Oh, there have been a few descending voices, especially from the right, but for the most part both branches of the government are eager to write off an jaw-dropping chuck of taxpayer money. Never before have we witnessed such a love-fest between Bush and the liberal-controlled congress.
To put $700 billion in perspective, the national debt is about $9.2 trillion. We spend over $400 billion per year servicing interest on the national debt. This bail out would be equal to 8% of the enormous national debt that has been built every year since the 1970s. The federal budget is about $2.9 trillion dollars. The $700 billion bail out would be equal to about 24% of the federal budget.
To put the proposed bailout into individual terms, if you have a total personal debt (mortgage, car loans, credit cards, etc.) of $250,000 (this is reasonable since the median home price in the US is about $212,000), the bail out would represent a one-time payout of $20,000. I don’t know about you, but I think most middle class families would have a tough time dumping $20,000.
Thinking of the bailout in terms of income, the median household income in the US is about $50,000. If you had a $50,000 household budget, this bailout would be the equivalent of dishing out $12,000.
Whether the number is $12,000, $20,000, or $700 billion, the point is that it’s a big number relative to US government finances. Republicans and Democrats both belly-up-to-the-bar when it comes to spending taxpayer money. Republicans claim to be fiscally conservative, but seem to rarely live up to their tough talk in practice. George Bush, a supposed conservative who’s run up record spending and record deficits is a great example of the lip-service-only philosophy politicians of both parties seem to exhibit towards fiscal responsibility once they get to Washington. When it comes to politicians in practice, there seems to be no such thing as fiscal responsibility, regardless of party. Democrats don’t even bother to pretend to have fiscal responsibility. Their party platform for years has been based on reckless spending and redistribution of wealth in an attempt to buy votes with give-away programs. Their party-first philosophy gives no thought to the ramifications of their actions on the welfare of the nation. I’ve come to expect fiscal irresponsibility from Democrats. However, I expected more from our so-called free market-loving, fiscally conservative Republican leaders.
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