Democrats and Republicans scramble to fix mess both sides created

It's kind of fun watching politicians scramble to cover their butts from messes they created, especially when both parties share equal blame. On the other hand, it is tragic that Democrats and Republicans spend more time threatening, pointing fingers, and drawing lines in imaginary sand than actually being useful, and figuring out solutions. The current debt ceiling debate is akin to a kindly, yet misguided daycare provider asking a group of four year olds what they want for dessert. Let the whining begin.

This much is true. There is no arguing that the national debt is out of control, and is contributing to the long recession we find ourselves mired in. A decade of unrestrained spending has left the United States' fragile economy teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. Yet just who is to blame for this runaway train of federal spending?

Despite alarming reports dating back to the Bush administration, we continued to borrow large sums of money from China to pay our bills, which in turn rapidly increased our debt load. Most Americans either did not notice, nor for the most part, did not care. Life was good. The national unemployment rate at the end of 2006 was 4.4%. The June, 2011 rate sits at 9.2%, up from 8.9%. For those at home keeping score, this is down from a high of 10.1% in October of 2009, but up 3/10th of a percent since February of this year.

When it comes to the national deficit, it depends on which set of numbers the government releases to the public. Democrats still chide the GOP about the $559 billion surplus President Clinton achieved in his final four years in office . But as an August, 2006 USA Today article points out, those numbers were achieved without factoring in future pensions and medical benefits for retirees and military personnel. After adding these expenses to the above mentioned surplus, President Clinton's last four years in office showed an actual $484 billion deficit.

If we look at the deficit numbers for 2006, then President Bush touted the success of his tax cuts in announcing an encouraging budget deficit of $296 billion down from 2005's $319 billion. The real 2006 deficit using the same accounting practices as applied to President Clinton's aforementioned numbers stand at $760 billion. At the time, then Senate minority leader Harry Reid cautioned, "Let's not boast about a $300 billion deficit." Now Mr. Reid is the Senate majority leader who is saddled with a $14.1 trillion deficit.

I only mention this because at some point, politicians need to remember at least a tiny portion of what they say. This rhetoric of attacking the other party at every turn, instead of working together to find solutions is the biggest problem we have. This malaise extends not only to Washington, but to the states themselves.

Minnesota's government has essentially shut down because the Democratic governor and Republican controlled legislature cannot agree on a fiscal plan moving forward. Tens of thousands of state employees have been furloughed, and according to published reports, no agreement is in sight. While most people may not care about the plight of public workers, they should.

Remember President Ronald Reagan's trickle-down economics? It works both ways. If the furloughed workers are not receiving paychecks, their buying habits will slow dramatically. If this stalemate drags on for months, this slowdown could have devastating effects on most businesses in the state. In a worst case scenario, stores in Minnesota -even the large chains - could find it unfeasible to remain open, putting more people out of work. Manufacturing, already a fragile sector, takes the next hit. More people lose their jobs. Bankers cannot make loans to people without income, so what becomes of that industry? Are we starting to see how the Democrats and the Republicans can wreck an entire state's economy?

Back on the Federal level, one can point to a number of factors that drove the deficit up during the middle years of the last decade. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were, and still are expensive endeavors. The devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 also took a toll on the nation's spending, as did Federal aid for other natural disasters over the past ten years. Just look at the tornado ravaged south and mid-west this past spring. Federal aid for those areas alone will extend into the tens of millions of dollars.

Yet, while most of us demand Congress come up with a solution - and there is no debating that they must - what are we, as U.S. citizens willing to give up? Congress lately seems to be a mere extension of the radical forces populating both sides of the citizenry, neither of which wants to see their oxes gored. But in order to achieve some semblance of fiscal sanity, both sides are going to have to sacrifice a few sacred cows.

In the end result, do we as good citizens tell our congressional leaders that we are willing to cut spending on welfare, Medicaid, defense, and corporate taxes? If not, we are nothing more than a nation of four year olds trying to decide on our favorite dessert?