Thursday, April 16, 2009

Tea Party. Why Some Don't Understand

Yesterday, millions of Americans mailed in their tax returns to the IRS. Also yesterday, millions of Americans gathered around the country in places like Ft. Worth/Dallas, Texas; Greensboro, NC; Kingsport, TN; Washington, DC; and big, medium, and small town USA to express their displeasure over the direction this country is going. These gatherings were called “TEA Parties,” standing for “Taxed Enough Already,” based on the original Boston Tea Party of 1773.


Perhaps the name “TEA” is not the best one for what is occurring since these gatherings are over much more than taxes. The Leftists love to throw that up and say, “Well, what’s the solution to taxes,” but they don’t seem to get it. While the original Tea Party of 1773 had more to do with taxes on tea, these gatherings are more about government spending today that will, indeed, bring forth excessive taxes tomorrow. How else will this deficit be paid for? If you are one of those who asked that question, please continue to read, for I intend to offer my idea of the solution. This idea is not mine alone; it is also the idea of the millions who gathered yesterday to say, NO MORE.


Some time around 1971, about the time I graduated from college, the National Debt was in the $460 billion range. I believe that worked out to be somewhere around $2000, give or take a few hundred dollars, for every man, woman, and child in this country.


In December 2008, before all this new spending had been approved and thrown to the four winds, it was closer to $11 trillion, 23 times the amount in 1971. The per capita national debt has risen to nearly $35,000. The new budget deficit for this year alone will raise that debt to about $12 trillion, give or take a trillion or so. That means that the next tax bill received by the American people, regardless of political party, race, creed, gender, or sexual orientation will be in the neighborhood of $183,000 per man, woman, and child, and that is just a start. It will continue to climb as more and more spending is added to this already mind boggling amount.


The Congress and the White House tell us they are committed to deficit reduction, but that is totally absurd. No, it’s worse. It’s an all-out lie, or they would be looking for ways to cut spending, rather than throwing money down a rat hole for unneeded, unwanted, and unnecessary programs given out to repay political debts or to insure future votes. It matters not which political party these people belong to. They are not being honest with the American people, and this, my friends, is why millions gathered yesterday—to say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! It’s time for Washington to get their house in order and begin living like the people they represent: on a budget, no credit cards, no lines of credit, no self-given pay raises, no fancy frills and perks, just plain and simple—live on what you have, and do without until you can afford more through savings and being frugal. That’s the way responsible Americans live today.


We see the evidence of irresponsible spending every time we see foreclosures and bankruptcy notices in the newspaper or hear of such on television news shows. Not all, mind you, but the majority of the bad were self wrought through irresponsibility. The “I want it now” syndrome took over and replaced common sense.


America has found a new “religion,” a false religion called “moral therapeutic deism,” the “central goal of life.” Sociologist Christian Smith calls it, “be happy and feel good about oneself.” I would have to ask if the folks who are now facing foreclosure and bankruptcy are “happy and feeling good about themselves,” or are they sitting in shock and awe wondering what happened. The answer is simple, and when they recover from the initial shock, the majority will realize that the religion they followed that brought about all the happy, tingly feelings has led them to the hell in which they now stand.


My parents had a different outlook on things when I was growing up. My dad worked swing shifts of seven days straight with a few days off in between for more than thirty years. He had a limited education but was intelligent enough to train most of his supervisors during those thirty-plus years. He also was intelligent enough to know that one did not get ahead by spending willy-nilly and buying whatever “flipped your trigger” at the time. No, he understood sacrifice, stemming from farm life, the days of the depression, and service in the Pacific during WW II. He understood there are no free rides, and if one wants to move ahead, it requires hard work, planning, and, yes, sacrifice—the one thing that most in this country are not willing to grasp, especially those who are supposed to be leading. They call for sacrifice but they say that comes through spending more than what we have. That is a completely wrong definition for sacrifice. Sacrifice, for the most part, means to do without, to forfeit, forego, relinquish, yield, something those in Congress and the White House seem not to fathom. My folks didn’t mind sacrificing, for they had “a better plan” for their offspring. They sacrificed so that I could receive an education and not have to work thirty-plus years of swing shift work to provide for my family. They saved for the day that their retirement would arrive, knowing that no matter how good the company was that Dad worked for, retirement and Social Security would not be sufficient for them to enjoy what they had worked and sacrificed for. They instilled that same spirit in their child, and that child has attempted to instill the same in his. I pray that it continues to grow in the grandchildren, but I fear they may not have the opportunity to do the same since they are the ones who will be saddled with this horrific debt that has no end, regardless of what is being touted by those in Washington, DC.


Somewhere along the line, someone failed to instill that spirit into our leaders in Washington. Perhaps it was once there and power and greed has overshadowed common sense. It’s time for them to dig down deep and rediscover that spirit, embrace it, and never let it go until this country is once again on stable ground and not on the precipice of disaster. These leaders need to give up their religion of “moral therapeutic deism,” stop the self worship, the instant gratification, the thrill of the moment to grab more power. Repentance of such is needed, along with a move back to a solid moralist, self sufficient, self determining and accountable way of living and governing.


Now, hopefully, those who question the purposes of the TEA Parties and ask what the solution is will finally get it. It’s all about living within your means, which often means cutting back, stopping the spending, and saving for tomorrow instead of trying to buy a tomorrow. That is the path to destruction, as those who are calling for an end to such spending know.


If I could offer one Scripture verse to those who believe that we can spend our way out of the decline we are now in, it would be this one, for it is evident that none of them have counted the cost.

Luke 14:28-29 Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him …



5 comments:

Anonymous said...

You know how to put the spirit into words, Ticker.

I was at the Tea Party in Greensboro. We had an enthusiastic crowd estimated at 1200-1500. Mostly adults but there were a few yonsters holdinf signs like this : " I am ony five and already in debt "

Fred Gregory

Ticker said...

I saw the pics and am proud of G'boro. Then of course Ed and the usual suspects made light of the situation showing that indeed some folks never get their head out of their rear ends even when they are given 40 ft of chain and the keys to the tractor.

Anonymous said...

TEA = Taxed enough already.

Actually, I understand that taxes are necessary to sustain important infrastructure. I don't like paying taxes, but I get it. No, what really shivers my timber is the spending.

That, and that smug-faced witch Nancy Pelosi today on television telling everyone that these were grass roots events, they were astro turf events ... paid for by the rich. In point of fact, our local event was not paid for by rich people; it was paid for through donations among participants.

I'll stop now before I begin ranting. You saw the video I sent you yesterday; now tell me, which best represents "radicals?" People who attend tea parties, or CNN correspondents?

Ticker said...

Mustang, we know who the radicals are unfortunately no one is listening.

Bob Grenier said...

Well said, my friend!