Ain't Got No Money, Honey

The era of big government has returned: Neither Barack Obama nor any of the Republican candidates for president has a plan to or any intent to balance the federal budget. That means that our debt will continue to grow, most likely at a rapid rate (over a trillion dollars a year). That means that we will have to pay more of our tax dollars to pay the interest on the increased and increasing federal debt. (Interest on the debt is currently the third largest item in the budget.) That means that there will be less money available for everything else. President Obama intends to use the scarce federal revenue to fund his pet projects and keep federal employees (170,000 new federal employees since he became president) on the payroll. Unless you are a federal employee, union leader or food stamp recipient, less money and fewer services will trickle down to you.

And the means less federal money will go to the states. State and local governments will have to struggle to keep their employees paid. With the heightened awareness of the debt and high rate of taxes, these governments may not be able to increase taxes. And that means that you will have fewer services and will be assessed fees for things you never imagined.

"User" fees: Expect higher or new fees to use the parks, bridges, roads and libraries for which you have already paid. Auto registration and tag fees will rise sharply. In the future, you may be assessed a hefty service fee when the police or fire crew responds to an incident involving you, even if you are not at fault.

Garbage collection: Most residential neighborhoods have garbage collection twice a week. Get ready to hold your own longer. That schedule may well be reduced to once a week. Don't like it? Get a trash compactor.

Red light enforcement: This is, in my view, a most pernicious, evil abuse of power. Many municipalities have installed red light enforcement systems. Ostensibly employed to reduce accidents, these systems, in fact, serve primarily as cash cows for local governments. When the pols realize how much money they can collect, expect government officials to ignore the protests of "big brother is watching." There is a higher calling involved here: money. I would not mind it as much if they would just come out and admit it. But that is expecting too much of greedy, power-hungry government goons. So, expect the systems to be everywhere. Big brother is watching. And he is a ruthless, greedy SOB.

Zip code moves the mail: Yes, higher postage fees are right around the corner. Last year, the post office ran short by half a billion dollars. There is no end in sight for losses by the post office. The entrenched, nearsighted government bureaucrats have no idea how to run a business. So don't expect anything to change at their end. There has been talk of eliminating residential mail delivery on Saturdays. How about Tuesdays and Thursdays, too? Not that I'd mind... not than most anyone would mind. Really... with e-mail, texting, etc., does any individual (not a business) need mail delivery every day? Of course not. It is an obsolete notion in the 21st century.

But just cutting corners will not solve the USPS problem. Never has; never will. I'll write an essay addressing that soon. But remember that this is just band-aid, not a solution.

The Last Word

I hate to end the series on a sour note; but that's the way it came out. Though, most of the positive items I referenced in the earlier essays are inevitable. The dark side, here, is not inevitable. But it will take a dramatic change in the way we view the responsibilities and limitations of government to prevent the outcomes I have forecast here.

So, as I have said many times before, "what are you prepared to do about it"?

This is a printer-friendly version of our This Week with the Chicowitz essay for the week of January 23, 2012. The Internet address for this essay is http://www.bbhq.com/thisweek.htm

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