Don't you dare blink!

This message is to the Republicans in the House and Senate: Don't you dare blink!

When I say "Don't you dare blink!", I am talking about the Balanced Budget Amendment. I am not talking about the change in the very top tax bracket. I don't agree with changing any of the other tax brackets. But, if the only thing the Democrats are asking for is an increase in the very top tax bracket from 33% to 38%, then this is something that I think should be done. The key must be spending cuts and a Balanced Budget Amendment. If the Democrats want both a debt ceiling increase and an increase in the very top tax bracket, then I think that is a fair compromise.

By the way, this amendment had better be so obvious, that anyone can read it and understand it. No more of this cryptic crap that is intended to facilitate more pork-barrel spending. No more politics as usual. This is your chance to re-establish the fiscal conservative reputation that was destroyed by both of the Bush administrations. This is your chance to do the right thing for the American people.

I believe the only way to get spending under control is to have a Balanced Budget Amendment. And, I don't think the debt ceiling should be raised unless we get a Balanced Budget Amendment.

I have been following the media stories that are all intended to get the public worried about an economic collapse because of the Republican strategy to force a Balanced Budget Amendment in exchange for raising the debt ceiling. The media (and I suspect this administration) would have you believe that the crisis is so bad that only an increase in the debt ceiling will solve the problem. Well, I have a very simple question for both the media and this administration: why did this administration wait so long to act?

This administration has known that the Republicans were going to take a position to reduce spending; this was the obvious mandate from the American people in the 2010 elections. Of course, I also recognize that this administration believes they are operating on some kind of higher moral ground, and, thus, does not have to listen to the will of the American people; but, the signs were all there. The American people are very concerned about the excessive government spending and the size of the debt. And, no amount of media spin is going to change this.

The Democrats want us to believe that the people in the top tax bracket are some how benefiting more than the rest of us. Well, what about the people in Congress who get automatic pay increases every year? To me, I would rather have our government elitists reminded who they work for, and have all of their "perks" stripped away. I am sure that would save the government more than we can get by raising taxes on those in the top tax bracket.

I know I sound like a broken record on this point, but, the American people are not stupid. They are balancing their checkbooks every day, and they are seeing the impact on the price of goods that they have to consume. They understand that endless debt is not the answer. And, they are willing to make the hard choices in order to avoid bankruptcy. This is fundamentally different from the approach being used by this administration. Despite the evidence that you cannot spend your way out of a recession (because it just causes hyper inflation), this administration has continued to spend like there is no limit to the money that can come off the printing presses. This is the kind of arrogance that the American people wanted to be stopped when they gave control of Congress to the Republicans.

So, here we are: both parties nose to nose on the issue of the debt ceiling. Yes, the Republicans can give in. But, they should not. It's time for this administration to do the right thing. In fact, it was time for this administration to do the right thing months ago.

When the average American realizes that they are not going to have the money to do what they want to do, they adjust their spending to match their income. Sure, some can go and get a better job to increase their income, and, thus, keep spending. But, at some point, the credit card limits are reached, and, they have to make some hard choices.

This administration knew that they were going to hit their borrowing limit months ago. Did they stop or even curtail their spending? Not from what I can tell. It looks to me like they have just been jamming through as much spending as they could, on every entitlement program they could.

So, not only does this administration not stop spending, they try to spin this as the rich versus the poor. Despicable. Don't get me wrong: I think the very top tax rate should be increased from 33% to 38%. The problem is that this will not balance the budget. It's just not enough money. But, it looks good in the media, and, its an effective diversionary tactic; which is why this administration is taking this approach.

The Democrats have taken to running commercials showing Republicans pushing Grandma off a cliff because they want to curtail spending. Yet, when President Obama comes out saying that the Medicare age should be raised from 62 to 65, the media praises the administration for its innovative thinking. Who is really pushing Grandma off the cliff? All of these half-truths are just causing more problems. And, both the Democrats and Republicans are guilty of trying to manipulate public opinion with half-truths. Shame on you both!

So, back to my question: why did the Obama Administration wait this long to act? Why didn't the Obama Administration do what we as average Americans would have to do once we reach our credit card limit? Why did this administration continue to spend? Imagine what would happen if all the American people just continued to spend? Oh wait, we don't have to imagine; we can just look at what caused all the foreclosures in the last three years.

It seems very logical to me that reductions in spending by consumers will adversely effect the economy. That said, what happens when a population spends money it really does not have? Well, they go into debt, and, their financial burden is increased by something called interest.

Interest is income for the banking industry, so they are not about to do anything that will interrupt their income stream. In fact, its obvious to me that greed in this industry is what caused consumers to be loaned more money than they could ever be expected to pay back. Yet, the government let the banks loan this money anyway; because they wanted the money to go into the economy. This artificial growth is nothing more than a temporary "high". And, when the money is gone and the bills are due, that is where the real pain starts. It's an addiction - plain and simple.

The sad thing is that the government wants us to be addicted to spending; because it makes us dependent on them. But, in fact, I believe it goes deeper than that. If a person being loaned money can be influenced by the person that is lending that money, then the person loaning the money has considerable power over the person borrowing the money. I think the same is true for governments, as well as the people elected into government positions. Is this what democracy has come down to?

I have a theory.

Once you subscribe to the "spend yourself out of a recession" theory, you would also have to subscribe to the "cutting spending will cause a recession" theory. It's one thing to spend money you have, but another all together to spend money you do not have.

I suspect that there would be some impact on the economy, if the government were to cut spending too drastically. This would be an impetus for this administration to resist spending cuts. If the spending cuts lead to another recession, this administration would most certainly get blamed, and they would lose the election. For me, I find it despicable that these government elitists are playing games with the lives of the average American.

I suspect that this administration was counting on their ability to manipulate public opinion through the media. The media has certainly been doing their part. I just read an article in USA Today indicating that raising the debt ceiling was not a big deal. I will take this article apart piece-by-piece in my next post. For now, I want to focus on the administration's attempt to manipulate public opinion, rather than dealing with the real problem. The real problem is spending.

Mr. President, you made a mistake. You cannot spend your way out of a recession. As a student of history, and, as smart as you are supposed to be, you should have known that. Now, its time to do the right thing. Yes, you might lose the election. But, are you willing to sacrifice the country so you can be President for another term? Wake up man! The spending is killing this country. Your policies are not working. You want to be a great leader, then try listening to a different set of people. I am an idealist too. But, I am also a pragmatist. You have to know that the spending is going to come back to haunt us. You ran on a platform of change, well, this is your chance. Start listening to the American people. Start listening to those who want to put our spending under control. Start supporting and helping the working class. Stop the pork-barrel spending. Stop the entitlements. Support a Balanced Budget Amendment. Now that would be change I can believe in.

Mr. President, you should have addressed the spending head-on, instead of trying to talk your way out of this. It looks to me like you wanted to pick a fight with the Republicans on this issue. I suspect you even thought you could use this issue to catapult yourself into another term in office. Well, I can tell you that your message is resonating with the left; as I am hearing it from all my liberal friends. But, I can also tell you that your message is not resonating with those in the middle; and, that is who you need to convince to get re-elected. You claim to be a centrist - now it's time to prove it. It's time to get behind the spending cuts. It's time to endorse a Balanced Budget Amendment.

I reiterate my challenge to the Republicans in the House and the Senate: Don't you dare blink!

In exchange for the Balanced Budget Amendment and immediate spending cuts, the Republicans should agree to raise the debt ceiling and to increase the very top tax rate from 33% to 38%.