Eric Pollitt
Guest Columnist
The American media, Hollywood, pop culture and society are all willing to recognize people they deem important with awards. There are more than enough national awards shows than to count on both hands for actors, actresses, musicians and athletes.
The United States has $127 trillion in unfunded liabilities, according to a Forbes report in January 2014. Where is the awards show for the people who come up with a plan to solve this problem? This shows the priorities of the media and why they are as useful as a trap door on a canoe: Once you open it up, you’re sunk.
It is even worse and more embarrassing for the millennials because the real state of the union is Washington’s continued display of poor leadership in solving America’s long-term problems.
Washington tells the public we can pay down the national debt if we do the right thing, have shared sacrifice and pay our fair share. Every taxpayer would need to pay a good bit of money in order to fund these liabilities. This amount of money is nearly double 2012’s global GDP output, according to Forbes magazine. This does not include the unfunded liabilities of state pensions across America. How do we pay for all of this?
While Washington brags about working tirelessly, neither the White House nor Congress talk with one another unless it’s to show constituents they are putting forth effort. At the end of 2012, a record low number of bills were signed and enacted into law, according to the Huffington Post. None of this legislation addressed any of the serious long-term fiscal issues that our generation will have to face. This is where the biggest wusses are in America: Washington.
I would call them pinheads, but not solving this problem doesn’t make them anti-American. Idiot isn’t accurate because these people are smart enough for us to keep reelecting them. The term moral coward is not deserved. What is moral about bankrupting our generation when by the time we pay our shared sacrifice the people who dug this hole will be in the ground just like our economy will be?
Every time politicians say they are reaching across the aisle, they are really reaching into your pocket. Washington’s pay to solve big problems is nearly double the average middle class income. The federal government’s complete lack of leadership in their ability to address our future unfunded liabilities is setting a bad precedent for future presidents and congressmen, which is a reflection of our society. They should play by the same rules as the middle class and take a pay cut for their poor performance.
The real state of the union is Washington can’t solve long-term problems like a husband and wife whose marriage is coming apart. Maybe Hollywood will name an award show after the person or group who saves our country.
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