That is about it, Sadly we have been sleeping for a very long time, and we have allowed government to
get so big that we cant afford to allow it to grow, and cutting its size hurts the over-all
economic activity of the country.

Either way there is pain

the truly disheartening thing is that in a persons life mANy times people dont make changes they need to
make until they hit rock bottom. At rock bottom most changes help and are seen quickly. In our
present situation , required changes dont help or immediately improve the situation, they only
make it worse.

In this country most of us are raised to believe the glass is half full instead of half empty. I think
our eternal optimism ( which has been a great thing) may well stop us from admitting our real
financial health.

gman

I’ve grown a bit more cynical, unfortunately.

And I HATE that I’ve been made to feel this way…

I see a group of uber-rich who are the only ones that can afford to get elected, making self-serving, special interest-influenced decisions that even an idiot (like me) can clearly see are not in the best interests of our country or its citizens.

It’s all about getting into power through getting elected at ANY cost…

Then its about getting richer by any means – corruption, patronage, insider trading, etc., – acts that would cause the "average Joe" like me to wind up in jail…

A sad day when our election choices and decisions are based on who sucks the least!

Here’s a little controversy – Although I find our current President wholly unqualified and needing to return to his community organizer activities, he (and the Office of the President, unfortunately) is a mere puppet.

While an easy target to blame and vent our frustrations on, changing the President will change little.

Viewing him as THE problem conveniently takes our eye off the ball of where the problem truly lies.

Insert Special Interest Group(s) here to determine who is actually pulling the strings…

Want significant reform and change? It will take getting rid of the corrupt career politicians.

And where are they? Certainly not in the Oval Ofiice…

Congressional Term Limitations is an answer.

Perhaps it is THE answer…

Sorry to rant…

😎 😎 😎

I am not sure i am cynical, but i am way past assuming being positive all the
time is the answer.

My honest answer is simply this, we were lucky enough to be born in the only
country the world has ever seen where power is given to government by
the people instead of the otherway around.

We blew it, but why? Is it that freedom really does not work because people
need control, or is it that in a truly free society , there is no one to stop
the encroachment of tyranny, it is that we are lazy, is it that in a fee society
those that really appreciate the freedom work so hard they dont pay attention
to those that would harm them. I dont have the answers, only the questions.

I get by day to day telling myself i was lucky to be here, i have had a good life
and most of that has gone before me. The future is what ever it will be, but i
no longer cling to the idea that this country can be saved, or that it could some
how go back to the way "we think it was" We are no longer that country, we are
no longer the same people, that has passed in the night while we were sleeping.

WE are now a mixture of people no longer dreaming of an opportunity, but one
demanding equal outcomes. We no longer expect that a free society will allow
each person to rise as high as we can go, but rather one that demands we all
rise to the same level.

The reality is simple… we are half way to socialism and tyranny, we cant afford to
go forward, and there are far to many progessives to allow us to go back. We are
what ever we are. The truly sad thing to me is that when liberals finally get us to
where they want us…. they will find it is not what they thought it would be

The old saying of "be careful what you wish for" is playing out before our eyes in
whats left of the country we used to have.

gman

1. Treat campaign funds like any other income. Although they are not directly used for personal expenses, they allow for better quality of life. Travel, meals, etc, are run through as a campaign expense, allowing personal funds to be saved.

2. Change (simplify) the tax code. When Congress can no longer whore out the tax code as pay back, perhaps they might get some real work done.