Published: July 23, 2008 01:59 pm            

Blame the government – then fix it

I hear a lot of folks complaining about the government these days. I don’t mean Harrisburg, although there are many problems there. I’m talking about the U.S. Government, the Fed, Big Brother!

“The government needs to do something about gas prices,” they say. “The government needs to do something about food prices.” Or, “The government is invading our right to privacy.” One that strikes close to home for me is, “The government is mortgaging the futures of our grandchildren.” So true!

People are always blaming the government. With congressional approval ratings in the single digits, opinions are close to unanimous that the system is broken, yet we seem reluctant to fix it.

Lawmakers in the Congress, particularly the long-serving, career politicians on both sides of the aisle, bear responsibility for most of the problems our nation is struggling with today.

You can blame presidents, past and present, all you want, but Congress makes the laws. Just take an inventory of the mess it has created.

The Arab oil embargo of 1973-1974 should have been warning enough. Yet here we are, 35 years later, with no comprehensive national energy policy, still dependent on Middle East oil and paying more than $4 a gallon at the pump.

Food prices climbed 4 percent in 2007 and may climb as much as 5.5 percent before the end of the year, due in part to an ethanol craze whose science is shaky at best.

Worried about your retirement? Congress has routinely raided the Social Security Trust Fund since 1969 to cover unfunded requirements in its bloated, pork-filled budgets.

As for the current mortgage crisis, Congress is likely to sheepishly follow the president’s lead and, to the tune of billions in taxpayer expense, bail out the foolish debtors. After all, it’s an election year!

When an old car constantly breaks down, we replace it. Yet we re-elect those perfumed princes who repeatedly fail to do on Capitol Hill that which is right for our country.

Today we are led chiefly by a pack of self-serving careerists, Democrat and Republican, who are driven by cowardice, expediency and popularity toward their only goal – retaining power in the next election.

Our elected officials continue to practice party politics at the risk of the nation’s future.

Where are the statesmen who can lead us out of the political muck in which we are mired?

Where are the political leaders who will speak truthfully to Americans and provide honest assessments of the problems we are facing?

While the challenge of fixing the government may seem daunting, it really isn’t that difficult. For each American voter, the government boils down to four elected officials: The president, two senators and a representative.

Based upon the current congressional approval ratings, only about one in every 10 members of the Congress is performing acceptably.

Take a look at your elected officials. If they rank among the majority who are failing, then fix it by voting them out.

An imperative of practicing medicine is, “First do no harm.” The same should apply to Congress. While we can’t expect term limits, since members of Congress would have to place limits on themselves, we can ensure no harm is done by returning to the model the Framers conceived for elected officials.

They envisioned citizen servants, not a Congress filled with lawyers and career politicians.

The battle cry of voters in November, regardless of party affiliation, should be, “Vote the bums out!”

Now that’s the sort of political change we can all live with.



Zachary Hubbard is a retired Army officer and freelance writer residing in Upper Yoder Township. He is a member of the Tribune-Democrat’s Readership Advisory Committee.

        

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