Budgets

The whole world is presently faced with planning budget. Budgets put a face on the way a country, a state or province or a municipality sets out their priorities.I am always touched by the statements made by political leaders before decisions are made concerning how the taxpayers money should be allocated. Yesterday I heard a brief clip on radio where a powerful person in the USA said, "cuts for military and law enforcement are out of the question, everything is fair game."

That statement tells us a whole lot.Any statement made before consultation places the budget process in jeopardy. Today with so many economic problems in the world we often forget the real purpose of the governing agencies. Two sides to the coin, one is the real issue of debt and finances and the other is the needs of providing services. The constitutions of the various levels of government lay the groundwork and rules for powers and responsibilities of each. One problem is that constitutions were mainly written in a age which faced a different society.

Conservatives basically wish small government and fiscal responsibility and more liberal like a balance between social needs and fiscal responsibility. We know that is simplistic as there are many shades of these notions.We somehow have to learn to live within our means as every family knows but somehow find themselves in debt.Since families and their budgets are a microcosm of society we can readily see the want and need situations with clarity. Not so clear with big government with its myriad of secret agencies and entitlements. Debt charges strange ling growth and maintenance of traditional institutions like justice, health, education, military, welfare, environment and every other need staggers the minds of our leaders and the only way they can manage is to borrow. Wrong.

The United Kingdom is in dire straits and the government decided to bring in a budget that would balance the books in a matter of years.It was a painful reminder that there is no bottomless pit of money, someday you will sink and go bankrupt. Even the USA, the most powerful country in the world and the largest economy is in big trouble. Will we have the leadership to solve the problem?

Too many people today rely on the goverment for needs which should be personal responsibilities. Socialism is great if you can afford it but socialism has a high price. There must be a balance. Free enterprise is great as well for the people who benefit from their work but it clearly divides the world of the rich and middle class. We are losing our middle class and this could be the downfall of our Western society. All we can do is hope our leadership is good and strong enough to make the good decisions. We can also manage our own affairs and live within our means.