I get their point and it's all well and good. Current budget cuts are inadequate to solve the debt problem. I completely agree, but would go further to say budget cuts of any kind are going to be inadequate to solve the debt problem.
You see, we had this issue in my house, too. Once I quit working full-time and we looked at our budget we saw that we too would go into debt if we did not do anything about it. So, should we slash our auto repair fund? Should we stop saving any money for retirement? Should we make all of Little A's toys out of materials we gather outside? Let her run around diaperless like the kids from the African village in that documentary Babies? Should we never go visit family? Etc. etc.
Well, we decided that though we could reduce the amounts in all of these categories and others, we could not get rid of them completely because they were TOO important. So our only option was to increase revenue. And since LCD was already working his bum off to make ends meet, the responsibility to make the difference fell to me.
Would I like to be able to nap while Little A naps and would LCD like for me to give a thorough vacuuming to the house every day? Sure. But sometimes solvency now and in the future requires that we make more money instead of just cutting expenditures. It's a balance.
Are budget cuts inadequate to solve the national debt? Yes, but so is income/revenue. If the meager underprivileged in society need to give up some of their services then the privileged wealthy are going to need to give up some money. Fair is fair. THE END.
4 comments:
As someone with a radio crush on Alex Bloomberg and the crew on NPR's Planet Money, I know that personal finance and sovereign finance are two different things (macro v. micro economics). Countries usually thrive on debt. It is how this country was built (thank you Alexander Hamilton). I think taxes will need to be raised and budgets cut. The problem is that no one wants to cut anything or raise anything so it is at a standstill.
In the mean time, I'll keep my emergency fund filled. My lastest car issues have been putting a drain on it, and I'm glad I don't have to live paycheck to paycheck.
Well said, both you and abby. What muddies the water is all this discussion regarding Social Security and other "entitlements" that don't need to be touched or tweaked hardly at all. Almost all our problems can be resolved with a modest increase of income tax on those that make $200k or more AND removing the cap on FICA payroll tax, which currently sits at $106,000, which means that for the next 30+ years before I can collect SS but do earn an income above that, my FICA tax will remain flat. To me, that isn't fair. The point of SS is so those that need more, get more, and those less, get less.
Supposedly our country is founded on Christian and Godly values, I don't see much of those in the conservative movement.
i'm not commenting on the political portion of this post, although i find your argument compelling. post it on facebook! :)
seriously though, we are struggling with the same thing right now - figuring out what to do with baby and money and life in general. oh boy, does life throw you a curveball when babies are involved! it's nice to hear your pragmatic approach. more than nice - it's inspiring. thanks for being honest on your blog so i feel like it's ok to struggle with these decisions. i mean, it is ok, right?
Thanks for being smart, friends.
Gnomie: I think I had to re-decide and/or alter my plans five or six times since Adele was born, so yeah it's tough to get the right balance and it can change from one month to the next. And that's okay.
Even though it's not ideal to work from home PT (just like nothing else is ideal), I do feel extremely lucky that I was at the point in my career where I had enough experience and contacts to make it happen.
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