a question of dollar signs

If you've ever watched tv in the Chicago area, it's likely that you're familiar with commercial staples such as Erik Martin and Legal Helpers, J.G. Wentworth, Attorney Peter Francis Geraci (my roommate and I believe that his legal first name is actually "Attorney") and Roni Deutch. Now, there's really nothing sinister about these commercials, or the companies they advertise, save for the sad commentary on American lives and Americans' desire for government handouts. My favorite commercial depicts some type of credit class, where Erik Martin prevents the room from being "schooled" by "Creditor the Clown" by bopping him with his inflatable baseball bat. "Don't let bankruptcy, garnishment of wages or the threat of foreclosure keep you down," Martin admonishes. It's a nice idea, isn't it? Hiring a law firm to get your creditors off your back? Just forget the fact that you wouldn't be in the position if you were responsible with your money and didn't spend more money than you had. Unfortunately, for Americans, debt is a way of life, as the average American household has more than $9000 of credit card debt, and the national debt has topped $9 trillion (that figure is incredible, because I know for a fact that it was around $8.5 trillion in March of this year. So, in seven months, our government spent half a trillion dollars). Each American born today is responsible for almost $30,000 of that debt.

Since we're all saddled with thousands of dollars of debt, just by being Americans, it would be nice to have something to counteract that. Hillary Clinton has proposed such an idea: giving $5000 to every newborn to put into an account to later be used for college or a down payment on a house. It reminds me of the deal my parents made with my sister and I; they'd give us some money when we got engaged, to be used for the wedding or the first house. Good idea in theory. But where will that $5000 for every child come from? The taxpayers. It'll add to the national debt and drain further on our resources. Since about 4 million kids are born in our country every year, that's $20 billion in just one year. While it would be theoretically nice to put all children on a level playing field, to help disadvantaged kids go to college, it's a hard program to stomach. If our government can't set a good example of fiscal responsibility, how are the citizens supposed to carry it out?

A liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man, which debt he proposes to pay off with your money. – G. Gordon Liddy