Im really tired of all the partisan games down in Washington DC. No one knows how to compromise and everyone wants credit. Literally!

The past year, all Ive heard about is raising the debt ceiling, which – in laymans terms means that the government will be able to borrow even MORE money to add to our ever increasing debt.

Quite honestly, this all seems ridiculous considering that it was just a few months ago, they raised the debt ceiling. How many of us can do this when we get ourselves into a financial quandry? No one I know can do this.

Which brings me to how -I- would solve this problem.

Ever heard of Matthew Lesko? If you were ever suffering from insomnia back in the 90s, Im sure youve seen his infomercials. This might jog your memory:

This guy basically showed us how to get ‘free’ federal money…..Sounds good? Right? Well, apparently a simple google search tells me his entire spiel was a scam, but what if ANY of his books did tell us how to get that ‘free’ money?

Lets just say…..for pure conversation sake…..that out of all Leskos books, there were 50 programs that us regular people qualified for. So, you apply and get your federal check (remember, its ‘free’ money). Who inevitably pays for that check? That ‘free’ money gets paid for by United States taxpayers and adds to our debt.

Wanna know how else we add to our debt?

A simple look at the budget (and Im talking line by line) will open your eyes to the waste that occurs in our country. We have, quite literally, several thousand programs that are over a decade old. Some of these programs may only benefit a handful of people. These types of programs typically never end, they just keep going and going, like the Energizer bunny. Why arent programs like these stopped?

How about what our government pays for supplies? Ever seen those websites that lay out how a lightbulb can cost the government hundreds of dollars? If anyone could ‘buy in bulk’ its the government.

How about some of those ridiculous studies? Im not talking about true studies that actually benefit science here. Im talking about the millions of dollars that have been spent on researching the most glaringly obvious idiocy-like these examples: http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/government-waste-20-of-the-craziest-things-that-the-u-s-government-is-spending-money-on

Why is our government NOT stopping THIS? Granted, I understand that cutting some of these wont put a dent into the trillions of dollars we are struggling with, but isnt it a start?

Lets stop lobbying in general. Lobbyists get paid to stroke our elected officials egos in order to get their pet projects okayed. Not only is it a waste of our money, it does nothing for good legislation. Basically, let your projects and legislative ideas speak for themselves – if they cant do that, what good are they?

Lets stop this picking on our senior citizens and our military all the time everytime theres money problems in Washington. If anyone deserves to be paid, its those two groups. Our elected officials should do without THEIR pay to show a real sacrifice.

Quite honestly, our country needs to learn how to live within our means. Stop taxing the middle and lower class to death. You cant fix the economy if all those who would be spending money have to do without the necessary cash in  their pockets because of higher taxes now…..can you?

***stepping off my soapbox***