Brace for a showdown as Tea Party sponsored government shutdown looms

If enacted as is, the GOP plan would eliminate numerous programs, including the Corporation for National and Community Service, which runs the AmeriCorps program, and it would terminate federal funding of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It would cut $600 million from border security and immigration programs. It would eliminate nearly $80 million for the District and slash funding for the cleanup of the Chesapeake Bay.

On Friday and Saturday, Republicans approved measures that would provide narrow savings but impose sharp policy prescriptions, including the abolition of any federal funding going to Planned Parenthood and the restriction of any funds going toward the implementation of Obama's health-care law.

The cuts to government would amount to 61 billion dollars which is a drop in the bucket for the deficit which amounts to 1.7 trillion dollars or about 3.4%. So we would reduce the amount we add to the national debt by that much, but what each and every one of us would have to pay to eliminate the national debt would be $44,900! Now, most of us have mortgages on our homes which amount to more than that and at the rate of inflation, we'd probably never feel the pinch if we actually had to pay it off.

On the other hand, the aforementioned programs involve some very talented employees who would necessarily lose their jobs just when employment is at its lowest. Do those of you in the workforce want to compete with these newly unemployed?

I'm sure that those of us in the southwest would hate to have the government reduce spending on border security and immigration, but that will be the case under the new rules if enacted. I'd suspect that we'd revert to open borders like we used to have with Canada.

After all, we're all good trading partners and open borders are much cheaper to maintain. Mexicans are willing to do work most Americans won't. As to the drug trade, if we were to legalize drugs and tax their sale, just as we have (even here in Arizona) with marijuana, we'd quickly eliminate our national debt. ...and, of course, if we were to drastically cut Pentagon spending and bring our boys home, we'd quickly eliminate our deficit!!!

It is highly time for us to reconsider our priorities. What is it that we want government to do? Should we police the world or should we care about our citizens and make their lives better through health care, education and the elimination of poverty?