Raise The Roof

There's something sadly ironic about the promise of "social security" considering the instability and uncooperative nature of the people who are supposed to make sure it's secure. The dealings in Washington are nothing new; irresponsible and childish, each side points fingers and throws congressional-sized tantrums while this country's credit and credibility are in danger. Common sense and reality never seem to play a role in our lawmaker's decision making processes. Save more, spend less. This is what us regular folk have to do when the money is running low. When there's a real financial emergency, we alter our spending habits. We buy store brand instead of name brand. We call the cable company and get rid of that big movie package, we limit our cell phone usage and turn off the lights when we're not using them. We may even have to move to a less expensive home and drive a simpler car. You would think our leaders would be the ones we look to for guidance in these hard economic times, but perhaps when it comes to financial responsibility, our government needs to take a page from our books. Perhaps the millions upon millions of dollars raised for presidential campaigns and attack ads can be donated towards the debt, whoever raises and donates the most gets to be president. Sound silly? Living off of money that doesn't exist and allowing our debt to rise to an amount that threatens our children's future sounds even more frivolous. At this point, Republican or Democrat matters not and blaming one side or another isn't going to get the job done. There should be a consequence for holding out and prolonging progress. It's no wonder so many young people don't get politically involved or refuse to vote. They have no one to look up to, a respectable group whose lead they can follow. We need our government to agree on something other than disagreeing. We need to feel secure in knowing that while there are so many threats and potential hazards regarding this country's foundation, money will not be the one thing that ultimately brings us down.