Let's Chip Away

     Social program spending in the US are out of control.  Our large deficit, currently, is due to social programs such as Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, food stamps, welfare, and with the growing amount of people unable to find work in today's economy, it's likely to continue to rise.  Nearly 50% of our federal budget goes to entitlement programs, and that's not counting all of the wasteful spending we know happens on Capitol Hill.  These are very scary times right now, in terms of everything going on and outside of our boarders.  One would think the easiest thing to do would be to come up with a balanced budget, after-all it's what we do at our homes every single day.  I have heard of states doing so and some even being able to carry surpluses, so why is it such a novel idea to ask congress to do the same is beyond my comprehension.      
     With taxes having been increased since Obama took office, since that is Democratic answer to every monetary problem we face nationally, we are facing a challenging road ahead.  We are spending more than we are bringing in, and there has not been any evidence showing any improvement in the near future.  Should we not demand that congress take this just as seriously as they do baseball players taking steroids? My rational thought would be to take a closer look at social programs and see where we can slim down the unnecessary spending.  In today's modern times we are becoming a nation built around a mentality of, "what have you given me lately" kind of crowd or "I shouldn't have to pay for this" kind of people.  There is a huge lack of responsibility not being taught to our youth.  For every action you make, there are going to be consequences.  Some of those consequences will be rewarding, while others will be costly.  Those that are costly should not be placed on the burden of other American's trying to make their own way.  
     I'm sure you've seen the countless videos online of welfare recipients who we saying that they have never worked a day in their life, and they don't plan to, because they are having all of their needs taken care of by the government.  Day after day you hear from families in your neighborhood who need to go on food stamps because they have lost their jobs due to businesses bringing job forces oversees due to the ObamaCare law.  As one of the more advanced nations on this planet, we have more people on food stamps than North Korea, Canada and Kenya.  What's more upsetting is that if we continue down this path, there will be more people becoming wholly dependent on government to supply them with their day to day needs.  Welfare and food stamps were originated due to the Great Depression and were not ever intended to be a means by which people live, only something to use as a stepping stone.  Sadly that is not what is happening, and what's more is the current administration is proud of the levels of people becoming more dependent on government handouts. As someone who wakes up 5 days out of the week, and leaves their family for 8 hours or more a day, why not require nation wide drug testing?  Why this is even a hotly debated topic is beyond me.  IF the people on this government program cannot find a job, then let's find something for them to do.  Community service would be a place to start, should they not be able to find a job in a given period of time.  This attitude of some that have been living on welfare for an extended period of time need to be required to do something to earn the money that others are taxed.
     We need to examine all government programs and our ever increasing spending debt ceiling in the upcoming years, as more of the baby boomer generation is set to retire.  While finding a real solution to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid is more difficult than it appears, it is really important for those of us paying into the system to have it fully available once we reach retirement.  There needs to be a discussion on the lawmakers on Capitol Hill and their earnings, and those who are in the government sector that make unnecessary bonuses.  Perhaps if we chip away at the over used stepping stone programs, and over paid Congressmen, then we could perhaps rid the economy of the ever present weight to our nation's debt.