July 29, 2011
Friday

Dear Ms. Editor:

I do not pretend to understand the whole of the US budget, but I understand when I am charged MASS, LARGE, GROSS more in taxes than the benefits I receive. To fuel my distaste for the bureaucrat & make me consider siding with the Tea Party, the media depicts Social Security as an "entitlement".

Where is the money I paid for retirement for the last 50 YEARS? Makes me feel like the rapee, not the raper!

Any reasoning person can see that bureaucracy has expanded & bloated to the point that we as tax payers can no longer afford the luxuries in our federal budget. It is time to prioritize & cut all department budgets back to necessary service levels.

Looks like our National economy is suffering some ills. Our so called "leaders" are trying to locate a magic pill, "wonder drug" fix, when good common sense is all that is required. The proper fix won't come in a day, a week, or maybe even this year but the sooner we realize we ( our government ) is living beyond OUR means, the sooner we will get started in the right direction.

It is time to put ALL federal spending programs under the microscope of 'necessary vs luxury' & trim all budgets to a prudent level, a fix should not be on the backs of ANY select group because we are equally to blame. No single group is at fault, the government process is what has got us to where we are today - BROKE!. Any departmental budget that does not spend all their budget will loose the excess, plus get cut for the next fiscal period; this single budgeting rule has caused more waste in government spending than any other factor. This policy needs some re-thinking!

I do not know of a one line fix, but what we have is not working. That realization is the first step to a workable fix.

Let us all DEMAND our representatives, local, state, & federal, all address public spending issues so that the emphasis is on the necessary, not frills or special group interest.

Thank you, 

James Dornblaser
Thorne Bay, AK