As a multi-business owner, and an entrepreneur, I understand in real time the effects the economy has on people and their feeling of ‘safety’. I’m a person that’s fairly comfortable being ‘unsafe’, swimming in shark infested waters if you will. I’ve lived a large part of my life up to this point, feeling ‘unsafe’, putting myself ‘out there’ in more ways than I can count. I’ve started businesses and watched them implode, I’ve made colossal errors in judgment and still I’m alive, and well. I don’t believe there’s a whole lot of people like me out there…

But I’m going to admit, what’s going on now, scares even me.

I watched last night while our new president presented a spending package that’s going to cost, you, me and everyone else almost a TRILLION dollars. As I write these words, the enormity of that I’m not certain I can really get my head around. I’m left feeling fear. Spending on that magnitude without any cuts? Did anyone even mention making drastic cuts? Does that even make sense to anybody? Am I the only one that thinks, in times like this, we should learn to do more with less? Or at least maintain and get smarter about spending?

I’ve watched first hand how poorly our government spending is set up. I believe it is out and out WRONG. They operate under the philosophy of ‘if you didn’t spend it, you loose it’. Meaning that if they budgeted for 100K (which any private business owner could get done for 50k in the first place) for whatever, and by some stretch of the imagination, the organization, person, entity, spent only 95k, they loose the extra from their budget the following year.

Would someone please explain to me how this creates a lean, efficient system?

I’ve watched this play out in my own business dealings with government organizations, and I have been frequently disgusted by the WASTE.

In business I’m confronted every day with limited resources, a fixed budget, and limited personnel. That’s one of the things that makes business so exciting to me, figuring out how to produce incredible results, with limited resources. It’s the very thing that sparks our creativity, ingenuity and flat out willpower. To figure it out, to overcome, adapt, and in the end win, or learn something.

I don’t see our government taking this approach, I see them just deciding, when things are tough, to spend more money, no cutbacks, no tough decisions. Is everyone in congress loosing THEIR health care? Thousands upon thousands of Americans are, and yet the entrenched politicians feel NO PAIN for the bad decision making of the past?

When I make a mistake (or most Americans for that matter) we pay for it, with our time, money, or just in a tough lesson to be learned. (can you say credit cards? )

Washington doesn’t seem to want to learn their lessons. Oh sure, I’ve been pointing my finger at George W as much as the next guy, but let’s be realistic, the problems we face today ARE NOT only his fault or responsibility. I believe a larger amount (or at least an equal share) of blame should be placed on congress. Most of the congress people have been there 10+ years, we all know that incumbents are tough to beat. So if the same seat in the house and senate have been held by the same people for all this time, why shouldn’t we be angry with them?

In the face of unprecedented and in my opinion foolish spending, someone needs to take a stand and say enough is enough. We ARE MORTGAGING our children and grandchildren’s future!

Yes, I feel the fear, and I’m still walking right into it, with my head high, proud to be an American, but inside I’m scared. What if we spend 700 billion to bail out the investment and banking industry, and then another TRILLION to bail out America, and the plan doesn’t work?

Maybe it’s time we took a long hard look at where we could CUT a trillion dollars in government FAT? How about reviewing every single program that no longer is relevant, in today’s economy?

How about stopping spending BILLIONS to print volumes of paper crap that nobody actually reads? Don’t we live in a digital world now anyway?

How about taking the BILLIONS we spend on the ‘war on drugs’ and pumping that money into having a goal of the BEST school system in the world?

How about just having a goal? America will be the best at ________. You fill in the blank.

I’m certain the decisions our president is making come with a great pain. I’m afraid the pain is the wrong one for this time and circumstance. Maybe it’s time the government felt the pain of FIXED resources, and still having to get the job done.

We simply cannot continue to support the current model of how things are done.

Eventually, the money will run out for good…. and then what?

I’ll say it again, I’m proud to be an American, I just hope the decisions being made now are good, and sound.

I’ll gladly eat my words, and I’ll celebrate my being wrong to worry. Only time will tell.

Till then, my choice, is to question, and move forward, in the face of fear, uncertainty and doubt.

- Bob