When It Comes to Government Spending, "Just Say No"

Gas prices are going through the roof. The value of the dollar is down. Food prices are increasing. People are paying more and getting less across the board. Government agencies, school systems, and businesses are feeling the pinch in these areas as well. Their response? Raise prices and increase taxes.

So who do you and I go to when we want more money to pay our bills?

We hear it from financial experts all the time: When outgo exceeds income, you have to either reduce outgo or increase income. As a regular guy holding down a regular job, I'm limited in what I'm able to do financially. I can find a better-paying job (assuming one is available); I can take on an additional job (most likely not in the same field, and for less money); or I can cut back on my spending. Of the three, the one with the quickest results is the last one.

Businesses do it all the time. The minute they want to cut expenses, the layoffs start. It produces immediate results on the bottom line, although in my humble opinion it's a short-term solution that causes additional problems for the business down the road. The average American also reduces expenses on a regular basis, many times without thinking too much about it. Choose cheaper restaurants to eat out in; eat more meals at home; spend the vacation at home instead of traveling; stop frivolous spending on items you don't need. You get the idea.

So why do government entities not follow suit? What makes them so special that they can just blatantly ask for more money while the average American tightens his belt? More importantly, why don't we have a say in this?

We've all heard stories of the $600 screwdriver and the $2,500 toilet. We do a slow burn when we see our elected officials spending our hard-earned money on trips to exotic locales, high-priced hotels, no-expense-spared dining establishments, and the occasional private party, all in the name of running the government. Our public servants request millions of dollars to build roads that go nowhere, construct bridges over flat desert terrain, erect buildings that sit empty, and purchase equipment that sits unopened and unused in warehouses. The military needs funds to build its next great superjet, while thousands of perfectly good fighting aircraft sit unused in an airfield somewhere in the southwestern United States. School systems ask for yet another bond issue to be passed while frittering away their budget monies on items that have nothing to do with education and everything to do with social engineering. And when the public questions their motives, they put on their all-knowing mask and tell us in condescending tones that we're not smart enough to know what's best for us, so just sign that check and be sure to leave the amount blank thank-you-very-much.

The people who are asking for this money have forgotten what it's like to live in the real world. You don't get up in the morning and have five lobbyists at your front door, offering you freebies if you'll convince your peers to vote for their recommended legislation. I don't have foreign dignitaries wining and dining me, and paying for extravagant gifts for my family and friends, so that I can sway my business contacts to give choice contracts to their nations. Neither of us can walk into our boss and say, "My expenses are increasing, so I want a 50 percent raise starting next month," without him or her bursting into hysterical laughter and thanking us for a good joke to start off the day. Not even the unions are that good.

I think that we need to listen to Nancy Reagan on this one, and "just say no." We can do so by voting against new bond offerings in our school systems; by writing our elected representatives at all levels of government and telling them they need to start trimming the budget if they want our continued support (our votes); and by actively supporting those individuals running for office who have a proven track record of reducing spending, either in business or government. Note the "proven" part of that statement. We have three Presidential hopefuls who promise to fix our nation's budget woes, yet all three have records that show they approve increased spending over reduced spending. So much for promises.

If things don't change soon, our elected officials will discover they're dealing with a very irate group of constituents. And in this republic, you need to be careful about ticking off the common man. After all, we've had revolution in this country before.