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Ranger Rick: Lack of fiscal discipline has consequences

If I was a Jihad Johnny, I would be smiling now after two federal judges overruled President Trump’s immigration order. The order excluded some Middle East country immigrants from entering the United States for a certain period (90 days), until proper vetting takes place and they are deemed not a risk to enter.

The executive position of the President as commander in chief allows the office to issue such an order. It is constitutional and proper to do so. The two judges ruling it wasn’t should be removed post haste and possibly be arrested as subversives, trying to allow possible enemies of the state to enter by their rulings.

I’m not a legal scholar, but I think the president is on firm ground with the order, and if he is, the judges making such asinine roadblocks should be excoriated, disbarred, fired and sent packing. If it were President Obama, he would just ignore their squawking. President Trump should do the same.

President Trump has released his budget and has a good grasp on what should be done. Cut off foreign aid, using that money to help build the wall. Cutting money from public broadcasting (it is no longer needed as there are tons of TV and radio stations available). If you want that type of broadcasting, it should be self-supporting by viewer contributions desiring such programming.

A machete should be taken to the federal government, either eliminating entire departments or at least overlapping and competing programs that are duplicitous. Eliminate the departments of Energy, Agriculture, Education, Commerce and give the states responsibility for those programs, where it did before the federal government stole them from the states. Slash budgets in all departments (except Defense) by at least 10% and have management figure out how to do it. Those let go (fired) in the aftermath must understand it was for their own good. This is just the tip of the proverbial layoff iceberg.

State and local governments can do more with less without meddling by the feds. Nobody in the federal government ever supplied energy, food or education to anyone you know. Those were supplied by local businesses and schools at the local and state level.

The debt of the United States is now equal to the entire yearly GDP (gross domestic product(ion)). We as a country cannot exist with crushing debt and unfunded mandates and retirement debt. What is the one of the largest expenses by local schools? Retirement debt. What are the largest expenses by local and county governments? Retirement debt.

That is one of the snakes in the weeds, so to speak. The federal college loan program is in trouble. There are now 4.2 million student loans in default (up 15 % from last year). See the problem? Who’s on the hook for all these loans? Look in the mirror. We are looking at the enemy, and he is us.

We spend too much, save too little and never see the dark clouds on the horizon. The storm is just about upon us and we are thinking the waning sunlight will come back. If you’ve heard of the Great Depression, that era might be considered “good times” compared to what may be upon us soon. We are due a financial (read that stock market) correction, but since the Obama administration, in collusion with the Federal Reserve, kept rates low, there was essentially scant or little growth during the Obama years.

Having no fiscal discipline “spending like a drunken sailor” (my apologies to sailors), did us no good as a nation. Having no interest to save money encouraged would-be savers to spend their money on depreciating assets or investing in the risky stock market in equities to gain anything on their hard earned money.

The Obama administration masked the underlying rot with more easy money – college loans, cash for clunkers, investment in “green” technology that went bust, making Elon Musk a multi-millionaire, and every other stupid investment that had little or zero return for the money spent.

The worst is yet to come – hate to rain on your parade – but the day of reckoning is coming. I surely hope I am completely wrong, but history repeats itself. And it is never wrong.

6 Comments

  • A good synopsis of our financial condition. Especially the comments about PBS. PBS is a total waste of tax dollars and could very well be self supporting. Take Sesame Street. There are a multitude of products that are copyrighted and sold from that show alone. If the administrators of that enterprise would, in the spirit of community interest, accept a salary that exhibits the spirit of public broadcasting, I would be more likely to support some funding of that sector of broadcasting. But, I just can not see why taxpayers should contribute tax dollars, just to keep the programming commercial free. I, for one, would be willing to suffer a commercial during programming, to watch some of the more interesting programs.

    As to the court (or that one judge) halting the temporary ban on travel from those 6 countries, all I can say is, that one act, was the greatest example of judicial over reach I have ever witnessed. And it was shamefully done, with little or no reasoning. In essence, that judge would open the gates to unbridled immigration (or open borders) to anyone in the world, as a right and not a privilege. This allows not just those that would contribute to the prosperity and well being of America, but also to those that would subvert and destroy, what has been called civilizations greatest experiment. In addition, that judge also stripped the executive branch of power that has been repeatedly upheld by numerous supreme court challenges. That, in my opinion, was not judicial prudence but political activism. That judge should not only lose his seat, but should be barred from all future legal practice, for his malfeasance and obstruction of justice. Perhaps Congress will impeach him and set a precedent that will curtail future political activism by any member of the court.

    As to federal funding for college, our government has created a situation, whereby they have come into control of our educational system. With federal funds, comes unbridled cost increases and a dependency on government that has created an atmosphere that promotes an adherence to political ideology, that has no part in our higher educational system. Safe spaces? Professors acting out as political activists? Bathroom dilemmas? Pressure put upon colleges to adhere to ridiculous government mandates , has taken away the freedom of expression by all sectors of our society, rather than to promote them. We are fast becoming a country in the grip of becoming a one party system. Our media, judicial system, intelligence community and now our educational system has been politicized to a point of establishing a fascist state, where if you do not go along, you are punished and ostracized. Good for those that share that ideology, but a fright to any that oppose it.

  • Lack of fiscal discipline? Of course I remember the George W. Bush administration. We invaded Iraq and Afghanistan, and didn’t pay of for any of it, because he didn’t want to raise taxes. It was paid for with increased debt. Essentially, he put it all on the credit card. Iraq was invaded under some “fake news” about 911, and yellowcake uranium, and weapons of mass destruction (apparently still hidden). When W’s time was over the stock market, as measured by the Dow Jones Industrial Average, was well under 10,000. Eight years later – under Barack Obama – it had climbed to into nearing 20,000. Trump says we have lower taxes – at least for the richest Americans – and better health care. It’s going to be beautiful. Bigly. If we can just do away with PBS and Sesame Street, all will be well.

    • Fiscal responsibility is only partially the responsibility of the President. The greatest portion lies within Congress. And guess who was in control? They were also responsible for the financial crisis that ended the Bush Administration. Oh, I know, it all happened on Bush’s watch, but to ignore the complicity is to also ignore our system of “Checks & Balances”.
      And “Hurrah for Wall Street”!! They were the only ones that prospered during the Obama Admin. That is unless one felt grateful to ask “Would you like fires with that sir”?
      Cutting funding of government programs that are wasteful is way overdue. Our Government has involved itself in way too many non-essential programs and regulation manufacturing entities. Cutting PBS funding is just one of the cuts that will streamline government, reduce the budget deficit and reward taxpayers “BIGLY”. LOL!!

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