Leadership and Debt

It was revealed today that the deficit for fiscal 2013 may end up at $640 billion. Everyone in Washington feels this is an improvement over what was predicted in January. So, I guess congratulations are in order for less incompetence and better creative accounting by those responsible for the promotion of the general welfare.

Presently, the total debt is $16,924 trillion, of which President Obama is responsible for 37%. Yet, he accused President Bush for being unpatriotic for requesting an increase to the debt ceiling in 2007, when he was Senator Obama.

Now, his position that raising the debt ceiling is necessary and non-negotiable, to any requests made by the Congress (read: Republicans) to cut spending. Apparently, his way or the highway is the strategy.

Mr President, here’s a newsflash for you, in case you were too busy on the golf course to see the latest on the economy: We are broke and you are a big part of the reason for it. If you are the leader, then you get to take the responsibility for successes and failures, not cherry-pick the items for which you take credit.

Or were you absent the day they taught  Management and Leadership in college?

Understand this, friends. He is not the only one responsible for the disaster which is the American economy. Members of both parties of the Congress have fought for cuts in spending EXCEPT for their districts and states, since at least 1995. So, it isn’t only this President’s fault for our predicament. It is only that the debt had increased more under this President than any of the previous 43.

So, all of us need to let our representatives and senators know it is time for the spiral of uncontrollable spending to stop and to let the President know he is not a king who can decree his will. He needs to work with the other branches of government. It is his sworn duty to do so.

Or, our posterity will be failed by us for not protecting them from our own stupidity, greed and carelessness.