THREE SOLUTIONS for Serious Problems Facing America Right NOW
This is the final installment, or part 3, of my last two articles regarding five serious problems facing our nation. These problems, from part 1, are: our open borders, our foreign policy, our debt, our spirituality, and our education system. Part 2 dealt with possible solutions for our borders and foreign policy. This installment looks at possible solutions for the last three.
Our debt…possible solutions:
Only a mentally challenged person, or a Democrat, would think that we can continually spend like we do. Our current national debt stands at 18.8 trillion. (That’s TRILLION… with a “T”.) In 2015, tax revenue amounted to 3.18 trillion (1.48 trillion, or 45.5% is from personal income tax.) The 2015 Federal budget was 3.8 trillion. Bit of a short fall there.
The debt is the total of all past years’ budget deficits. A deficit is when the government spends more than it takes in. We then borrow to cover the difference. We have run a deficit for 45 of the last 50 years. Current interest alone is $252 billion.
So, what’s the solution? Well, obviously, stop spending. Here are some proposed areas where we could cut costs.
* Cut all foreign aid for 25 years. This includes disaster relief. Granted, foreign aid only amounts to about 37 billion, but still…. The only exception to this would be Israel.
* Freeze all federal pay raises for 25 years as well.
* No more corporate bail outs. Nothing will again be considered “too big to fail”.
* Balanced budget amendment. Several states have this, or at least a constitutional stipulation towards a balanced budget. We need to pass this and adhere to it.
* Only programs that are 100% funded should be implemented. Also, money allocated for a specific program cannot be used for anything else.
* Cut the size of the federal government.
This last point is perhaps the most critical. In a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting on June 10, 2015, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) stated, “…the Federal registry indicates there are 430 departments, agencies and sub-agencies…” to the Federal government. These agencies of un-elected bureaucrats enacted over 7000 regulations while the 113th Congress (Jan.3, 2013-Jan. 3, 2015) passed, by contrast, 300 laws.
An example of what happens when you have too many federal agencies and departments is that at least four government entities have some sort of jurisdiction over road construction and maintenance. The Federal Highway Administration, The U.S. Dept. Of Transportation, The Bureau Of Land Management, and The U.S. Forestry Service all have some sort of authority over roads. Why can’t all this be consolidated into one authority?
I also think term limitations for Congress would help. At least the big spenders and “pork producers” couldn’t stay in office forever.
These are just a few personal thoughts on where to start. We have to do something. We’re doomed if we don’t.
Our Spirituality (or lack thereof) …possible solutions
In spite of Obama and the Democrats’ best efforts, we are still a Christian nation, whose structure is based on Judeo-Christian principles. Liberals have fought long and hard to change this.
However, the major difference between Christianity and liberalism is that, in Christianity, facing personal responsibility is a core principle. In liberalism, you’re always a victim. Whatever happens in your life is caused by some else’s racism, sexism, bigotry, hatred, micro-aggression, sidewalk chalk scrawl or whatever. Nothing is ever your fault, nor are your circumstances the result of your choices.
While true spirituality is totally subjective, taking personal responsibility should be an objective attribute for everyone. It’s always been a central part of Christ’s message.
Three good examples of how an encounter with Christ made a person face personal responsibility are:
* The woman caught in adultery by the Pharisees. (John 8:1-11) Christ told the woman to “Go and sin no more.” He also made the Pharisees understand their sin and therefore their responsibility.
* In Matthew 8:5-13, Christ marveled at the Roman Centurion who took personal responsibility to seek something he wanted, even something for someone other than himself.
* Matthew 19:16-23 is the story of Christ’s encounter with a rich young ruler. Here was a young man who proudly claimed his strength in religion by keeping all the commandments. But, when offered a chance for a deeper spirituality, he couldn’t do it. He could function well within religion, but couldn’t take the responsibility for true spirituality.
While there is no easy answer for changing the spiritually of the entire nation, those of us who strive to live a spiritually responsible life need to be far more aware of the power we truly have to initiate change.
Our education system…possible solutions:
Recently in Vernon Hills, Illinois, the local high school allowed the Moslem Student Association to dress seventeen non-Moslem girls in hajibs. Ask yourself, why is there even a Moslem Student Association in an American high school in the first place?
Our public school have degenerated into government propaganda mills. The only way to really fix this is for all parents to start pulling their kids out of such schools, vote down all school bond issues, and recall all school board member who allow such practices. If it comes down to even boycotting such schools, then it needs to be done. Besides, don’t liberals see the hypocrisy here? I though religion (usually meaning Christianity, I realize…) was no longer allowed in public schools? Why, then, are practices of the “religion of peace” being forced upon American high school students?
Any teacher who allows such an event to happen in a classroom should be fired. Plus, there should be no tenure for high school teachers, regardless of how long they’ve been around.
It’s getting worse with colleges and universities. Space doesn’t permit, nor is there any real need to reiterate all the current lunacy happening on the campuses of so-called higher learning.
Perhaps the only way to even get their attention is to cut the flow of Federal money to all public colleges and universities. Make them compete in the private sector free market and have more accountability to alumni and other non-governmental financial sources.
In an article entitled “Higher Education Subsidies” by Chris Edwards and Neal McCluskey (Downsizing The Federal Government, Nov. 1, 2015), these points were brought up:
…many private philanthropists support promising, low income college kids and they would have more interest in doing so if the Federal government got out of the student aid business.
Also note that because college education has real value, qualified young people and their families have strong incentives to invest in higher education, and private lenders and aid providers have a strong motive to lend to them…private lenders have more incentive to scrutinize aid applicants to judge whether they are ready for college and are studying in useful fields. Thus, private aid would likely reduce the problems of people entering college, racking up debt, and then not finishing college, or getting degrees that the economy does not need.
As I stated at the start of this series of installments, these are my personal thoughts. Of course, your mileage may vary. All of us…the tax payers…have got to take a hard look around and work to change what we can, where we can.
Liberalism is a social construct, with a very well-dug foundation. We won’t be able to tear it down overnight. Rather, true conservatives will be more effective to never stop incrementally chipping away at it. It’s going to take all of us.
Image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/walkadog/3366563115