The job of the Auditor General of the United States is to protect the truth about our nation's finances from the lies and manipulations of politics. This is what he has told us. (Please do fact-check it!) 1. We are on an unsustainable path that threatens our future. 2. We have lost control of our destiny by relying on others to fund our consumption. 3. We cannot afford the status quo; the status quo is not an option. 4. All alarms are flashing red and no one seems to want to do anything about it!
Does that make all you Tea Partiers and other so-called conservative "patriots" angry? Well it should. And that anger, along with a healthy dose of shame, should be directed to where it rightfully belongs, YOURSELVES. That's because those remarks were made by former Auditor General, David M. Walker, on May 9, 2005 when Republicans controlled both the Presidency and the Congress.
So while pundits have labeled Republicans as the party of "no" since the 2010 elections, the record clearly shows that in the face of financial crisis they were the "do-nothing" party long before anyone had ever heard of Barack Obama. The party of fiscal integrity, hah, Republicans are not.
And what exactly did Mr. Walker tell us we must do to save the American dream for its children? Quote: "We must work both sides of the ledger. Spending cuts alone will not solve our problems, and we must find new sources of revenue". He also reminded us that no republic in history has lasted more the 300 years, leaving us a mere 63 years to get it right. Lastly, he adds "I'm afraid for my children". And so should you be.
Personally, I want to throw up every time I hear a Republican politician rail against the Obama administration's "mortgaging your children's future". But the facts clearly show that Republicans already hold that dishonor. Using rough numbers, Ronald Reagan and Bush 41 ran the national debt up to $6 trillio, more than all previous Presidents combined at the time. Bush 43 piled on another four trillion for a total of ten trillion dollars. A significant portion of the debt ran up since under Obama includes carryovers from Bush 43 and the interest on the first ten trillion.
I have written about this for the last ten years trying to raise my own red flags. I do realize this last effort will fail again and that many in this county will continue to vote Republican because that's what granddaddy did or they take their marching orders from an invisible bearded white-robed man who lives in the sky and writes mumbo-jumbo verses with a fiery finger. Whether or not that includes you and no matter who wins the coming election, I wish you good luck because you're going to need it. And one last time I ask all those planning to vote Republican: Have you no shame?
Jeffrey Woollard
Lowell
