| |
|
 I
would venture to guess that if you asked most Americans a year ago to
use “bail out” in a sentence they'd use the phrase in reference to
bailing out water from a flooding boat or basement. One year later,
“bail out” has become a household phrase with a very different context.
Our daily news is primarily dominated with company after company
pleading to be rescued by the federal government, and political leaders,
in response, trying to convince the American public that spending
another billion of taxpayers’ dollars will help the overall faltering
economy and contribute to boosting the financial situations of American
families. But Americans aren’t buying it, and rightfully so.
Perhaps they aren’t buying it because they understand that a "bailout"
in its most rudimentary form implies an escape from some immediate and
difficult situation. What it doesn’t imply is the thoughtful or
systematic solution to the problem that made the bailout necessary. Over
and over we hear the same arguments on why we must bailout large,
failing companies. In January we were told that our economy needed a
$168 billion stimulus boost through consumer spending and that the
additional flow of money would protect our economy from recession. With
AIG, we were told that $85 billion was needed to prevent AIG's collapse
or else large-scale banking defaults would ensue. When Wall Street asked
for a $700 billion bailout, we were told it was because it would clear
up the traffic jam of credit and restore confidence in our financial
markets. And just this week, the House of Representatives passed a bill
to bailout the Big Three automakers on the basis that our economy is too
weak to sustain their bankruptcies and that $14 billion will prevent
even greater economic disaster.
Had the Senate passed the auto bailout, it would have been the sixth
bailout in 2008, totaling 1.3 trillion federal dollars spent to bailout
companies, a number so enormous that it is nearly impossible to
comprehend. In fact, President Reagan once said that best he could come
up with when trying to comprehend a trillion dollars was “that if you
had a stack of thousand-dollar bills in your hand only 4 inches high,
you'd be a millionaire. A trillion dollars would be a stack of
thousand-dollar bills 67 miles high.”
What is clear through all of this is that our economic situation has not
improved. Through bailout after bailout, we continue to face a weak
economy that is causing families to struggle to pay their monthly bills,
confront job loss just before the Christmas holiday, wonder if they can
send their children to college, and worry about making ends meet with a
shrinking retirement check. Despite all of the attempts to boost our
economy, November’s job losses were the worst in 34 years. And with each
bailout there is a growing sense that those Americans – especially those
who have made wise financial decisions – have been and will continue to
be left out in round after round of bailouts.
I voted against each of the bailouts to date because of the fundamental
ineffectiveness of rewarding corporations’ poor decisions with the tax
dollars of Americans who have spent their lives working to pay their
mortgages on time, save for retirement, and balance the budgets of their
families. But perhaps an even more compelling reason for Washington to
set aside its bailout mentality is the impact this is having on our
nation at a very fundamental level.
According to the Office of Management and Budget, in 2008 government
spending made up about 20% of our overall economy. If the government
spends all the money authorized in the federal bailouts this year alone,
that figure will have increased to 30%. This means the presence of our
federal government in our overall economy has increased by 50% in just
12 months. What is even more disturbing is if we continue this current
trend of multibillion dollar bailouts, in two years government spending
will make up half of our overall economy. While this statistic is
staggering, even more difficult is the reality that the number
represents. As this number rises, the judgment of the market and of the
people is increasingly replaced with the judgment of politicians. Since
government produces nothing of value in the global marketplace, this
trend threatens both the welfare of our economy as well as the freedom
of individuals to make the choices that are best for their families.
Further disturbing is the centralizing of decision-making power in
Washington. The auto bailout program proposed this week would be
overseen by a “car czar”, whose responsibility is to make the car
companies profitable again. This one person would have sole power over
disbursing and allocating the money, and assessing the automakers’
progress. While the legislation ultimately did not pass both houses of
Congress, we did massively centralize power with the $700 billion Wall
Street bailout, placing that program under the sole discretion of the
Secretary of the Treasury. Our federal government was formed around the
idea that individuals, no matter how good their intentions, are
fallible. Centralizing power in one person’s hands is one of the most
dangerous trends we can begin as a nation and one that is fundamentally
inconsistent with the intentions of our Founding Fathers.
Our Founding Fathers also knew that prosperity in a free-market economy
depends on four basic freedoms: the freedom to try, the freedom to buy,
the freedom to sell, and the freedom to fail. Painful as it is, business
failure is an essential part of the free market system. When government
steps in to save failing companies, it diverts investment away from
successful companies and hardworking Americans. Each of the bailouts
this year has required taxpayers to pay for the mistakes and
mismanagement made in the marketplace.
The American people know we can't borrow and spend and bail our way back
to a growing economy. America is at her best when her people are given
the freedom to use their innovative spirit to overcome challenges and
when government looks for real solutions rather than temporary bailouts.
If we take the time to find the right way to address our economic
challenges while preserving our basic economic traditions, we will come
out of this economic crisis a more resilient and innovative nation than
we have been before. Taxpayers deserve better than a bailout mentality.
They deserve a solutions mentality and they ought to demand nothing less
from their government.
Stay Informed About Diabetes
 According
to the American Diabetes Association, there are currently nearly 24
million American children and adults that have Diabetes. Nearly 5.7
million people (nearly one-quarter of those affected) are unaware that
they have the disease. Another 57 million Americans have “pre-Diabetes,”
putting them at high risk for developing the disease. It is
important that Americans know the symptoms and risks of Diabetes, as
well as what they can do to prevent the onset of Diabetes. Without
proper Diabetes control, it has the potential of becoming a deadly
disease.
For many people, there are ways to
prevent or delay Diabetes by following simple steps such as eating
healthier and exercising more. Keeping blood glucose, blood pressure,
and cholesterol in control can make a difference in reducing your risk
for heart attack or stroke. Annual dilated eye exams and routine foot
exams and blood pressure checks can prevent blindness, amputations,
heart disease, kidney disease, and strokes. The American Diabetes
Association lists specific steps you can take if you have or are at risk
of developing Diabetes, in order to still live a healthy life:
Take Care of Your Body
The time you spend now on eye care,
foot care and skin care, as well as your heart health and oral health,
could delay or prevent the onset of dangerous Diabetes complications
later in life.
Become Active
Being active plays a large part in
preventing Diabetes complications. It can also help in the prevention of
Type 2 Diabetes. Use the link to find out ways you can get moving to a
healthier you.
Eat Healthier
What you eat is one of the most
important aspects of managing Diabetes. Find tips and ideas to make
healthful eating a part of your busy lifestyle. Learn what foods you
can and should eat.
Know the “ABCs of Diabetes”
Knowing the ABCs of Diabetes and
keeping them under control will help prevent or delay the serious and
deadly complications. The ABCs consist of your glucose level, blood
pressure, and cholesterol.
Prevention is key - small changes in
diet and exercise can prevent Type 2 Diabetes from developing or slow it
in its tracks. To learn ways of how to prevent Diabetes,
click here.
Take the
Diabetes Risk Test which will calculate your risk for having or
developing type 2 diabetes.
If you have been recently diagnosed
with Diabetes,
click here to learn how to live with and manage your Diabetes.
To learn more about Diabetes and its
serious complications, visit
www.diabetes.org or by call the American Diabetes Association at
1-800-DIABETES. |
