The Federal Budget Deficit and You

I am concerned with the federal budget deficit. I think it is spiraling out of control. Many local and state government budgets are also in the red.

I am concerned with the economy. I think our economy is not growing in a healthy manner.

And I am a Republican.

The state of the deficit and the economy is neither a Republican problem or a Democrat problem.

I believe it is partly a cultural problem.

Our culture has changed from my parent’s generation, who were extremely reluctant to take on any debt, to “Generation Y”, who seem to use credit for everything.

The U.S. government is made up of U.S. citizens. Our government reflects our thinking and our culture.

How can we, the American people, expect our government to live within its means when we can’t live within ours?

For all the people who say we are mortgaging our children’s future with the ballooning federal deficit:

- How much debt do you carry?
- Did you do a cash-out refinance on your mortgage?
- Do you have an interest-only loan on your house?
- Did you do an 80/20 mortgage so you wouldn’t have to pay PMI?
- Do you lease your car?
- Did you take out a "no payments until 2007" loan to buy that plasma TV?
- Do you have a home equity loan?
- Do you carry a balance on your credit cards month-to-month?
- Is your car loan longer than 36 months?
- What percentage of your take-home income is spent servicing your debt?
- Do you save more than 10% of your income?

I believe if we change our culture from being debt-based to being savings-based, our local, state and federal governments will change with us.

But it all starts with you.