jenny erikson
Jenny EriksonWith the US Debt Clock continuing to tick, and the incoming freshman class in Congress saying they'll vote against raising the debt ceiling, it looks like Uncle Sam is going to have to go digging under the sofa cushions for loose change.

It turns out that money doesn't grow on trees.

Margaret Thatcher once said, "The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money." We are officially out of money. Actually, we were out of money years ago, so we started borrowing it from China and future generations.

With all the wonderful government initiatives to pay for (wait -- I thought health care was going to be free?), the money has to come from somewhere. It must be time for a tax increase. Maybe eliminating the mortgage interest deduction would help. What about a Value Added Tax? Of course, we could just let the Bush tax cuts expire in January.

I have an outrageous proposal: Instead of taxing us into poverty, why doesn't the government starve the beast by cutting back on spending? Here are a few suggestions to get the red ink flowing:

The Czars
One czar in particular needs to go, along with his entire office. Kevin Jennings -- the Obama-appointed Safe Schools Czar and fisting aficionado -- and his department consume piles of money to keep our already safe schools safe. Even the president's National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform is calling for the office to be eliminated, saving taxpayers an estimated $1.8 billion.

After Kevin Jennings is gone, we can cut the pay czar, the car czar, the Asian carp czar ...


Planned Parenthood
In the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2008, Planned Parenthood received $349.6 million from taxpayers. Also, 324,008 clumps of cells were removed from uteruses across the nation. Which means that 324,008 women were lied to about the development of their child and/or how abortion would affect them emotionally and physically. That works out to roughly $1,000 per abortion performed. Abortion may be legal, but abortion mills should not be federally funded.

The Stimulus
Monkeys on crack. Sea turtle tunnels. Skylights in wine stores. New windows at an abandoned visitor center. Need I say more? $819 billion down the drain.

 

We are out of money. It's time to stop spending.