SHUT IT DOWN

On March 4th Congress will decide whether to raise the debt ceiling. A "yes" vote will further bloat the national debt, allowing the beast to borrow more money. A "no" vote will stop any more borrowing, and force Congress to balance the budget. My vote - meaningless and probably not reflected in national trends - is to stop the borrowing. Chicken Little and company say this will cause a government shutdown-we will all starve, or die of global warming or global cooling or whatever. I say call their bluff. Stop the borrowing. That will still leave the federal government over two thousand billion dollars in projected revenues. Let's tighten our belts and live on it. Start by cutting all pay and allowances to the President, Congress, and the head of every federal agency until they figure out how to balance the budget. I bet they will get it balanced pretty quickly when their own checks stop.

Chicken Little and company tell us the first thing to stop will be social security and veteran's benefits checks. That is not a fiscal decision. It is a threat calculated to strike fear in the most vulnerable among us. There are a hundred other ways to manage the "crisis" besides taking away those benefits. But it strikes fear into the hearts of millions. Leadership starts at the top. Before any citizen loses what they have earned, the President, every agency head, and every member of Congress STOPS GETTING PAID March 4th and every month forward until we have a balanced budget. Although that is a drop in the ocean of debt, it would be the most powerful symbol of the new way of doing business.

Our representatives are busy at this moment "seeking compromise," which in political-speak means avoiding the hard issues. The longer we keep this fiscal monstrosity on life-support the worse the disease becomes. It will kill us now, or it will kill us later. We might as well cowboy up, take the hit right now and get down to the business of fundamental restructuring so this never happens again.

One of the biggest line items in the federal budget is interest on our debt. Raising the debt ceiling will- you guessed it - increase what we spend on interest every year. If your kids ran their business or household in this manner you would be appalled.Yet already, Republicans are touting "compromise" so they can extend operations for another two weeks while they work with "our friends across the aisle." So the Republicans answer is to raise the debt ceiling until March 18th, hoping that Democrats will somehow see the light and join in further "compromises." You know what this indicates? Politics as usual, and that is what got us in this mess.

So what if the government "shuts down"? That could be the best thing that ever happens. Tell your congressman and your senators shut it down and start fixing the underlying problems. There are four major steps to fix the underlying problems for good, instead of sticking a band aid of more money on the hemorrhaging.

1. Amend the Constitution to require a balanced budget beginning in fiscal year 2013 and;
2. Set term limits for both the House and the Senate
3. Require Congress follow every Law they foist on us.
4. Introduce a Bill requiring a full audit of the Fed.

Contrary to what the doomsday folks tell you, the world will breathe a huge sigh of relief that there is hope for the United States. They need hope because for the past hundred years we have saved the world over and over. Without us, who will lead the way?
If the government "shuts down" and these knucklehead politicians were threatened with job joss, the House could start the amendment process and pass the Bill in about 15 minutes. We can afford that kind of shut down and in fact it has to happen. But according to The Washington Post, "both parties agree that letting the standoff shut down the government would be an unpopular move." "Unpopular move?" Is this a beauty contest, or the high school homecoming pageant? Unpopular? These guys stopped being "popular" back in Lincoln's time. They are concerned with one thing only: getting re-elected, period. The GOP has offered a two week solution. This is vision? Who cares about being popular? Make the hard decisions, do the tough work we hired you to do, stop being pansies and be leaders. From our end, we will take the hits we need to take to minimize the federal government, downsize it to its Constitutionally mandated roots, and get back to the business of growing our communities, helping our neighbors, creating small business opportunities, and taking care of our health WITHOUT THE MASSIVE INTRUSION AND OBSCENE SPENDING OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

Keep in mind our representatives are generally not the brightest bulbs in the string so we need to support them by holding their hands, sending them ideas in simple terms, and then threatening them with being fired. I know from being on the campaign trail that we, the People, have the solution to every problem we face. Tell your elected representatives. Use the big crayon so they get it. We will never be quiet again. Watch your congressman and senators like a hawk. Their vote on March 4th should determine whether it is time to start the recall process.