From a previous column I reported: The next time you hear a politician use the word ‘billion’ in a casual manner, think about whether you want the ‘politicians’ spending YOUR tax money.
A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but consider the following:
A billion seconds ago it was 1959, a billion minutes ago Jesus was alive, a billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age, a billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet. A billion dollars ago was only eight hours and 20 minutes, at the rate our government is spending it.
I am not an alarmist. At my age I have seen just about everything imaginable so not much surprises me.
But today we talk about billions of dollars and now trillions of dollars in taxes as though it was peanuts and it doesn’t seem to bother us. Do you know how many zeros are in a billion? Or do you care?
In the previous column quoted above, I reported facts on the number “billion.” That was only a year or two ago and now we are talking about $3.5 trillion: 350 times more than the stats reported above. It’s mind boggling. I can’t count that high.
And if you haven’t cared before, you had better start caring because you are about to witness a Sea Change in your federal government that will affect every man, woman and child in America for generations to come and perhaps forever, if the democrat powers that be have their way.
After a moderate start, Obama is beginning to show his true colors as a far left liberal politician hell bent on destroying the form of government that made America the greatest country in the world, with individual liberties not seen in the entire history of mankind: liberties I might add you and I take for granted because we have never lived without them.
Obama is not alone in his determination to change America to a socialist government where big government rules and individual liberties are restricted.
He has the help and support of Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and the Democratic Congress. They are proponents of big government solving all problems, not individuals; higher taxes, now in the trillions supposedly on the rich but it’s always the middle class working people who end up paying; and, taking from the rich and working people to give to the poor and non-working people in order to redistribute the wealth. Socialism, pure and simple, no matter that communism and socialism have never worked anywhere in the world.
We also have to remember a little over half of the American people voted for a change and together with the help of the national news media elected Obama and a majority democratic congress.
Bush and the Republican Party, now in disarray, didn’t help matters as it can be argued Bush spent more money than the democrats. This is true as is also the fact he left the country in terrible shape from the questionable war in Iraq that made us the most hated country in the world.
It is also true Obama and the democrats inherited the worst economy since 1997 and perhaps the great depression. The one great difference is: unlike Obama’s plan, the free enterprise system and individual initiative brought back the economic recoveries in the past, not big government. In fact, less government and a reduction in taxes, not increased taxes, fueled the recoveries.
Make no mistake; the problems require government help but not the stimulus package proposed by Obama, which in essence includes a plan to pay back those who voted for him with taxpayer dollars.
Auto companies have to undergo a planned bankruptcy to survive. Billions of dollars will only prolong the agony. Labor Unions have made them uncompetitive in the market place.
Loans like to Chrysler in the past should be made to banks, auto companies and others with strict pay back provisions and no government interference in operations other than tight supervision. Politicians and government bureaucrats telling business people how to manage a business is a disaster waiting to happen and will create far greater problems for a far greater period of time.
Obama and the democrats are using the deep recession as an excuse to bring about sweeping changes in government that many believe will forever prevent our country from returning to the free enterprise and individual initiative system that built our country. The nightly news on national television gives them cover as they explain in great detail every night how bad things are and what a terrible job Bush did.
All true conservatives, whether Democrat, Republican or Independent, (unless they belong to the want something for nothing crowd), would do well for themselves and their children to care about the direction in which the country is going: and that is down the slippery slope of socialism from which history tells us there is no return!
I think it was Thomas Jefferson who said “A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take away everything you have!”
Maybe you and I didn’t care about a billion here or a trillion there before, but I think we had better start paying attention now.
That’s my story and I am sticking to it.
(Milo A. Nickel is the former president and COO of Louisiana State Newspapers.)
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