Why are we paying for this?

As we wind down September and move into October, the temperature outside is falling, and the debates are heating up. Both sides right now are claiming the other is going to raise taxes. That the other man is the wrong man to fix the economic situation. That they will lower taxes. Well that all sounds well and good, but we are forgetting a very very important organization, called the US Congress. Last time I checked the Constitution, approving bills especially ones that deal with money expenditures, and the budget is the domain of the US Congress.

That information being said, I became very curious about some things. Everyone right now is screaming about the deficit and our debt. One side is screaming that it is Iraq and Afghanistan that put us in this position. Well that's not true, there is a host of things that put us in this position. The first really strange one, is that we funded development in "certain" countries. These countries did just that with our money and together with outsourcing and our own corporations farming out production to them made them even more powerful. Now, it is these banks in these countries that are under-writing our debt.

So to break this all down, we gave people X money, they used it, got economically much more powerful, and then have loaned that money back to us at a higher interest rate. Am I the only one that thinks this is really wrong? Especially with the fact that since WW2 the only country that ever has paid back their loans from us is Japan?

With this question in my mind, I went to the Congressional Budget Office Webpage, and started looking through all the appropriation bills from this last year. I'm far from done with this, and I hope to have a complete roll up by next week of what I have found but here's just some useful juicy tidbits.

There is a bill that has been approved and put into effect that will deliver 45 Million dollars of our money to Eastern Europe and Russia to help fund small businesses. Now Eastern Europe I understand, but RUSSIA? Isn't this the same country that we have been dealing with in Georgia for the last 2 months? By the way, this bill was approved about 3 months ago.

Another one that I just loved, was appropriation of money to Africa. In one bill it was almost 500 Million dollars. Where normally there would be specifics on the bill, it just said, put into a general fund. Lets not mince words here, there is a great deal of corruption in the governments of Africa. To give 500 million dollars into a general fund, with no specifics just says, bye bye money, to me.

Like I said earlier, I'm not done with my research yet, but there is more then just two of these bills. So far Ive found 19 that sent my head spinning. This is why, every time I hear on the news the rhetoric of cut taxes, or raise taxes, we need to look inside first and sweep out our own house. There is a lot of wasteful spending going on, that I'm pretty sure, when I add it up, would make a serious dent in our debt.

Beyond that, we talk about education, poverty in America, our economic situation, infrastructure development, alternative energy development, well here's the money to do that. You don't need to raise taxes, we have the money, we just have to be smart about our money and spend it the way the American people really want it spent and need it spent.

More to follow as I complete my research.

God Bless America

Bryan Sphere: Related Content