Reflection on America's Money Problems

The solution to our national financial crisis? A) Repeal the Bush tax-cuts on the wealthy and use the money to pay for single-payer health care. In turn, use the money we save on health care costs to pay down the national debt. B) Pull our troops out of everywhere in the world that isn't providing humanitarian aid and cut the defense budget in half. Done and done. No more national debt problem. Conservatives can stop whining about government spending. Liberals can pay for their programs to solve social problems, and we can all calm down and focus on more important aspects of life. On an individual level: Cut up the credit cards, buy a smaller house, wear older clothes, drive your car into the ground and live in the black.

As anyone who lives on a budget knows, Americans don't have money problems, we have money management problems. It's comical to watch really as men and women dressed in wardrobes that cost more than most Americans make in a pay period scurry around from appointment to appointment in a panic trying to figure out how we're going to solve the "financial crisis." I get it. On a large scale it's not so simple. Tightening the belt on a national level means cutting funding to programs that, in general, are helping the people most affected by an economic bust. It also affects environmental programs, educational programs and the like, which are deal-breakers when planning for the nation's future. Death is obviously worse than debt, and there are fates worse than death in terms of the amount of suffering some people must endure as a result of a nation not holding itself to a higher moral standard. Some think it is as simple as not spending money until money is made, but this essentially only helps those already wealthy get wealthier (as they have no use for social systems of education, health care, and retirement and seem to believe environmental issues don't affect them).

However, on an individual basis, for the vast majority of people not born with debilitating illnesses, or destroyed by abuse and hardship growing up, debt (perhaps with the exception of student loans) is inexcusable. A large portion of Americans simply can't put the credit cards away and live within their means. The appearance of success is more important than actual success. This is also narrowing the definition of success to a pinpoint-like scope. Obviously, America has more than its fair share of citizens with financial success who are udder failures in every other area of life. As a nation, we're over-weight, undereducated, have pathetic marriage success rates, all but ignore the idea of stable family life, lack most qualities that make a human being interesting and relish in the fact that we are still free to talk as much shit as we want despite our astonishing mediocrity where it counts. I would estimate that about 5-10% of the American population make up those national qualities that the rest of us are so proud of--the rich, the talented, the healthy and well-educated, the over-achievers and self-sacrificers that make us proud to be Americans. The other 95% of us are wishful thinkers. The people who least deserve the American reputation for progress and prosperity are the very people who seem to boast it the most. They want so badly to appear to be on the level with the men and women who are actually in the game in this country that they run up credit cards and take out more and more loans to buy the houses, cars, and clothes that, they believe, make others think they are successful. If you haven't figured this out on your own, I'm here to tell you, it's a farce.

Not only do Americans have money management problems, but we have priority/ value problems. People want this shallow outward appearance of success so badly that we vote for policies that protect the people that maintain these appearances for us. Then, we vote for policies that grow our military to an outrageous size to protect us from the people who are offended by our poor priorities. Countries who mind their own business and take care of their own in the world do not have terrorists out to kill their citizens. They live relatively quiet, peaceful lives with long holidays, and lackadaisical lifestyles. They, of course, have militaries that can protect their borders, but not militaries so large that they could destroy half the planet if they so desired. Perhaps we have a bit of a messiah complex as well. If we stopped presenting ourselves as the free police department of the globe, I imagine other countries would step up to fill the void. The unnecessary war in Iraq could have paid for single-payer health care. The Bush tax-cuts for the wealthiest 5% could have paid for single-payer health care (and then some). The people concerned with the national debt seem to only be concerned when we're spending money on positive changes and investments in our people, not when we're spending to play cowboy in the Middle East. We are destroying our own country's well being at the expense of saving capitalism and military superiority. Diplomacy and a sense of ironic detachment with countries who won't listen to reason might serve us well. Our "big stick" is about 8,000 times the size of the sticks of any of our potential threats in the world. We can relax just a little bit. Just because terrorists were creative enough to slip under our radar one time in the history of our country, doesn't mean we have to bust the bank trying to prove our strength. Obviously a bigger military isn't solving the problem. Meanwhile, those of us more concerned with our families, friends, and neighbor's well-being are wondering why our fellow citizens are electing politicians content with continuing this pattern of ignorance.