We are currently spending our grandchildren and great-grandchildren’s money to make our lives better today and that is immoral.
And no, Republicans, it is not all the fault of the president and the Democrats. It is true that the Obama administration has exploded the growth of the debt in unprecedented ways, but other than the Republican congress right after the “Contract with America” (in 1994 – and, yes, President Clinton cooperated in the effort) there has been little evidence of either party really caring about the debt.
So, we have amassed a debt that is over 16 trillion dollars. I remember when it was considered scandalous that we were buying debt in the 200 to 400 billion range annually. Now, it is well over a trillion dollars each year and all we are doing is asking ourselves how much more we can get for us, our projects and our side.
So, the facts are pretty simple. We are borrowing money that our grandchildren, great-grandchildren and their grandchildren will have to repay so that we can continue to fund our comfortable lives right now. We want our government payouts and our low cost of living and we don’t care if someone else has to pay it.
To me, the greatest moral issue in America is abortion – the brutal murder of a baby inside its mother’s womb. Unthinkable. Dwight McKissic has argued, convincingly to me, that the racism that remains in America is another great moral issue. There are issues out there that we need to be concerned about.
But we have to stop looking at the debt as a political issue. We need to see it for what it is – a sinful act by which we rob our grandchildren to pay for our own comforts. Parents are meant to sacrifice for their children, not steal from them. America and its people are willing accomplices to this by electing people who promise to give us this and give us that. We need to start holding politicians feet to the fire about the national debt.
- We are going to have to curb spending. Yes, that will hurt, but it has to be done.
- We will have to pay more taxes in this time – across the board. We are all going to have to share that burden. For a huge percentage of Americans, tax time is not a burden but a bonanza. With earned income credit and child care credits, many (I have heard that the percentage nears half of all American taxpayers) have a net payout from the treasury instead of paying into it. We’ve turned tax day into a massive money giveaway. No wonder we have some problems. From the bottom to the top, we have to pay what we need to pay NOW so that our great-grandchildren do not get stuck with the bill.
- We must consistently vote for candidates who do not promise us the moon but demonstrate a genuine concern about reducing our federal (and state) debt.
I hope this does not come off as partisan. One reason I am a Republican instead of a Democrat (other than abortion and other moral issues) is because I agree with the Republican philosophy on debt reduction. However, Republicans in office have failed miserably to enact those plans when they have had the power. Lip-service must never be enough again. Republicans have been willing accomplices in this national shame.
It is immoral to live well today and send the bill to the generations that follow. It is something that needs to stop.
Some people (democrats and those advocating the “social gospel” need to realize that this means we’re not going to be able to provide for EVERYONE’S needs. Those who are unable to take care of themselves are not gonig to get everything they want. People who don’t want to work hard for what they need are going to find that government can’t play catch up and provide them the same lifestyle as people who are willing to work hard. As an example, I heard of a guy in line at the grocery store who heard the woman in line in front… Read more »
Cue cries of “Racist” in 3…2…..
That’s like the folks that we’ll give food to at the food pantry this week that stand outside, smoking a cigarette, throw it out to come in, get free food, then go out and light up a new one. If they would spend their cigarette money on food, they would eat better than what we’re able to give. And every one of the people I have encountered that behavior in check the same ethnic group box that I do. It’s not a racial issue. But, we keep giving food because in between those folks are the women abandoned by their… Read more »
What are the ‘specifics’ that WOULD help?
Restricting government help to those who truly can’t help themselves. Punishing people who are on government assistance but drive brand new cars and buy iPhones by reducing their food, housing, and medical assistance by an amount equal to that. Educating those on the government dole that they are not going to be able to achieve anything close to a middle class lifestyle, but at least they won’t starve.
Dave Miller, I have considered the national debt to the biggest issue in each election since 1996 (when I became aware of what the budget deficit and national debt really entails). Thank you for your irenic and balanced perspective. I always liked the fact that Newt Gingrich and Bill Clinton locked horns in the mid-1990s, simply because their partisan agendas were forced out the window in order to find common ground on centrist issues – the national debt/deficit being one area of focus. As a result, we had a balanced budget for the first time since the 1960s and the… Read more »
Perhaps we expect too much when we ask people who don’t have the moral reasoning ability to see that abortion is wrong to see that spending our great-grandchildren’s money is also wrong.
When we abandon morals, we behave immorally.
What’s the rationale then for the GOP’s “miserable failure” on this same front?
Just a couple years ago, 17.2 million households were food insecure with almost half of SNAP recipients being children or the elderly. I’m sure those numbers are higher now. But for those families, tax credits especially EITC are no bonanza (not to mention that EITC was a bipartisan idea that was greatly expanded under Reagan). Fighting poverty through credits and deductions is the definition of Bush’s compassionate conservatism, right?
That’s the argument on every program, every issue. We can’t cut this…we can’t cut that. Well, we have to cut something.
I’m not sure, from biblical evidence, that government giveaways are the best way to handle these things anyway.
I saw in my first pastorate the pernicious effects of generational dependence on governmental checks. Regardless of race, creating a dependent class is not in the interests of America.
Regardless, we cannot simply continue to spend a trillion more each year than we bring in.
And, to answer your question, the Republican’s failure was the unwillingness to stick to their principles. I think the Democrat’s problem is their principles, the Republican’s problem is the failure to act on theirs.
I don’t think politics is that simple—simply because there are so many clearly unprincipled people in elected office. Also, we just can’t treat Democrats and Republicans as a monolithic groups respectively. Too much diversity. What does the reality that much of the national debt is driven by the costs of two simultaneous prolonged wars do to your claim that Republicans simply failed to live out their supposed shared principles? What happens when principles conflict? Impossible to fund wars and keep a balanced budget. Also, doesn’t the weakened neo-conservative impulse on foreign policy questions within the Republican Party signal that principles… Read more »
Considering that the tax code is not “flat,” government giveaways come in many shapes and forms. You are in Iowa, right? I’m sure you know much about those other types of giveaways.
I just don’t view a federally-funded Summer Meals Program or similar programs for the truly poor to be a “government giveaway.” A basic safety net is something that both parties have historically supported.
David, Good insight in regard to principles. BDW, “”””I just don’t view a federally-funded Summer Meals Program or similar programs for the truly poor to be a “government giveaway.” “”””” I think you are correct in general in regard to these types of programs. It would be nice better: 1) for the government to let church members keep more of their money; and 2) those church members provided more of the charity. I think anything the government can do in this regard, private charities, and especially the church, can do better. Even saying that, I don’t think we can ever… Read more »
you both bring light to the argument that God’s moral law encompasses all areas of human behavior
(comment was directed to DAVID and AARON)
No doubt there is some abuse in the system. Surely it is not on the scale that you all are making it out to be. Would you want to make severe cuts to the eleven hundred dollars that your parents may receive from Social Security. Would you want to cut their Medicare to the point they have to pay more. We all have heard about the forty seven percent that don’t pay taxes. The largest portion of the forty seven percent are the retired folks. The next largest portion are the children, and finally there are those that are on… Read more »
Dave,
You speak truth. Sin clouds our reasoning in all areas. Very good point. I have nothing to add, but did want to acknowledge your astute perspective.
Sin really is the problem. We never really shift from that foundational truth.
The current state of our national debt is truly horrendous and disgusting. On a happier note, the Oregon Ducks are loudly quacking as they march bill first toward the #1 spot in the NCAA polls (currently held by CB Scott’s precious Crimson Tide). That’s why it’s called the “Quack Attack”! What’s that I hear boys? The PAC 12 can’t play football? Really? And it appears that the Yankees will once again endure an American League spanking at the hands of the beloved and saintly Texas Rangers. National debt? What national debt????? (Sorry, Dave, but I can find nowhere else to… Read more »
Dale, I am an Arizona Wildcat fan, and I certainly do not appreciate the beating that we took at Autzen last night. We had a really nice winning streak going there a few years back. Actually, Arizona did run up some impressive yardage, and got into the red zone six times, but the wheels came off in the second half. Still, I have quite an appreciation for Oregon and the Pac-12. One thing I don’t think you’ll ever see is the Crimson Tide playing in Eugene.
Licking the wounds are we? Lol! Actually, AZ put up some good numbers. That wasn’t reflected in the score. And Alabama will never travel to Eugene, for sure.
Our government debt and spending policies are a reflection of what the American people want. It’s the way most people handle their personal finances these days. It’s a philosophical view that has come forward in force with the baby boomer generation, and it is being passed along. But let me step on some toes. It’s hard for Christians to preach to this issue. Churches in this country have become high priority business for lenders, at high interest rates, spending significant amounts of their money on debt service to construct facilities for their own, inward selfishness. There is very little creativity… Read more »
I haven’t seen much from third party or off-brand politicians that make me think they are any real improvement.
I think that we have to begin to approach the national debt issue as a moral issue, not just a fiscal one.
The really GOOD thing about God’s Law is that for those who follow it, or attempt to, they will come to the place on their journey that asks of them more than they can possibly do on their own. Hence the concept of ‘communio’, of being a part of something more than ourselves, of accepting a role in a greater enterprise than our own selfishness . . . the concept of ‘communio’ is best expressed by St. Paul in sacred Scripture, here: “The chalice of blessing, which we bless, is it not a participation [“communion” in the Italian text] in… Read more »
“We will have to pay more taxes in this time – across the board. We are all going to have to share that burden.”
If I’m going to be able to keep affording to feed my kids today, then I cannot afford to pay more taxes. Whatever the future may bring for my kids, I know what the present brings for my kids if expenses get much higher – and this is my concern with the tax increase known as Obamacare.
We can certainly consider the national debt issue as a moral one. It is. But health care is also a moral issue, not just a business enterprise. Unless you are one who is at the mercy of big insurance, and corporate medicine, you don’t have any sympathy for those of us who are. I can’t afford to pay health insurance premiums that don’t go to cover my health care, but pay $100 million bonuses to insurance company executives. I’ve been in situations where a health insurance company “case worker” has made a medical decision affecting my life, rather than letting… Read more »
Health care is not a moral issue in that God does not expect the government to solve it. There is no biblical mandate for socialized medicine, no matter how loudly you moderates and left-wingers cry “It is, it is, it is!!!!!”
We the people must push for financial reform, and now. Leaving it in the hands of politicians will allow legal corruption to continue. We have over bought and the cost of maintenance is staggering. It was like we won the lottery in 94 and spent recklessly ever sense. The only solution is total government control or people control. Half the nation really thinks the government needs to fix it and that is going to be our downfall. We the people need to take it out of the politicians hand and fix it ourselves. That could get nasty, but it is… Read more »
As we talk about moral issues, national debt issues, and legal corruption, we are careful not to point a finger to any particular group of people. As I try to read between the lines, it seems that this conversation is about those that are on some form of Governament check. I want to take this time to defend those on Social Security and Medicare. I have been paying taxes since I was fourteen years old, I am considered an elderly gentleman now. I have been paying Social Security since I was fourteen years old. I have been through paying the… Read more »
“””” I deserve Social Security””””
On this, we totally agree. You earned your Social Security. It is not a gift from the government. It is called a “Trust” for a reason.
Some of you pastor’s need to tell your church that their Social Security benefits need to be cut. Guess what will happen.
Dave Miller,
I have to disagree with you on what you said earlier, “generational dependance on governmental checks”. Sir, sir, sir, this is almost funny. In case I misunderstood you, what does this phrase mean.
Frank L.
Thank you, We have got to get you out of purgatory. You can only get this type of humor from Kentucky.
Dave Miller,
Never mind I know what you mean, I had to think about it, and I agree it is a problem. With the current laws what can we do?