We lose more than we get

We lose more than we get

The Vindicator headlines tout President Obama’s visit to the area, and the appointment of Congressman Ryan to the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. Although these events are portrayed as good news, in fact they exemplify the systemic corruption and incompetence that have caused our current economic distress.

Both Obama and Ryan brag about the dribble of federal dollars they either have sent or promise to send to our area. They are silent, however, about the virtual flood of dollars that have left our area to support the bloated federal government. Let us see. The federal government — that’s us, my fellow taxpayers — shunted $19 million to the V&M Steel Plant. In return, this congressional district sent about $3 billion to the federal government.

In order for the taxpayers to fund the generosity of Messrs. Obama and Ryan, money that would have remained in the private sector has been siphoned into Washington’s insatiable maw. While the president can point, with apparent sincerity, to the jobs he feels he has created by this redistribution of wealth, in fact a far greater number of jobs have been destroyed or stillborn. Because of the heavy tax burden and the enormous amount of government borrowing, private industry has less capital available to invest in job-creating endeavors.

Under the current regime, the winners and losers in the competition for investment dollars are not determined by experienced investors who are risking their own money. Rather, the choice is based on political calculations by politicians who, like Obama and Ryan, have no significant experience in the private sector. Similarly, decisions concerning national defense are made to siphon tax dollars to a few select districts, rather than to do what is truly in the national interest.

Even worse, we are not merely spending money so wantonly; we are actually borrowing money to do so. Already, the interest expense for the borrowed money amounts to 11 percent of the federal budget. The national debt amounts to $42,000 for every person living in this and every other congressional district.

Congress and the president tax, borrow, and spend — and then strut and say, “Look what we’ve done for you.” The truth is that their actions have guaranteed a future of higher taxes, reduced services, and less economic growth. There is no magic that prevents the United States from becoming tomorrow what the spendthrift nation of Greece has become today.

Eric Chevlen MD, Liberty