If Only Peter Could Pay Paul...

The Obama Administration has proposed a budget of $3.6 trillion for FY 2010 which starts October 1, 2009. It is $1.84 trillion more than the government will take in from all sources.

The numbers are so large it is difficult for ordinary citizens to comprehend them, but almost every citizen worries about where the numbers might take us. Most of us see the deficit numbers piling up and worry that inflation will likely be used to pay for most of the spending we are doing today.

$3.6 trillion.

It is enough to take your breath away no matter your political leanings. Democrats will tell you it is a lot of money and it is necessary to (1) meet the demand for government programs and services from the people (everything from defending the shores to making sure beef is safe to eat), (2) restore some semblance of normalcy to the economy (stabilize the banks, secure the insuring entities), and (3) invest in our future in ways only government can. I repeat: …in ways only government can.

In short, there is a role for government in our lives. Dismiss any who say we need less government because it is too late. What we need, what we ask for, what we demand cannot be done with less government. If you know someone who believes otherwise, tell them to “get real.”

$3.6 trillion.

That IS a lot of money. Surely, we don’t need all of it. Surely, there is waste we can cut out and balance our federal budget. Why can’t we just cut those crazy programs at universities that do useless research like the one studying the sex lives of Australian slimy toads? When someone comes up and starts talking about such, I hope you will tell them, as politely as you can, to “please stop.” Such conversations, while they may feel good to the one complaining, do not reflect even a basic understanding of where we are….or, more importantly, where we are going.

Here’s where we are: Fully 65 percent of the federal budget is COMMITTED to Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, Interest on the National Debt, and Defense of the nation. That’s two of every three dollars – gone. Can’t be touched. You wouldn’t want to cut a dollar from any if you had the responsibility. Obama does have the responsibility and he was able to cut only $17 billion from the Pentagon’s budget for next year. He cut the entire F-22 Raptor program and other major line items but only cut $17 billion from the DOD budget.

OK, OK… so, two of three dollars are committed; what about the remaining dollar?

That last dollar supports every agency and department in the Executive and Judicial branches of government as well as a tiny amount for the Legislative branch. That last dollar goes to Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Justice, Labor, State, Energy, Transportation, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, NASA, Veterans, Treasury, and Congress.

The deficit for the coming year will be around $1.84 trillion, according to a new projection released by the White House today, and that’s more than half of the $3.6 trillion budget proposed.

So, what’s a responsible government to do? It can slow down the rate of growth in entitlement programs, for one thing. It only takes political will. That means you and I have to give our elected officials the freedom to address these issues responsibly without threatening them with dismissal at the next election. It also means we have to give government the freedom to do some risk taking on our behalf, as the Obama Administration is attempting to do by investing in health care reform (control the rate of growth in health costs while improving health care), investing in new energy sources (lead us to energy independence), investing in environmental innovations (slow climate change and improve the quality of air we breathe), invest in infrastructure (improve roads, bridges, transportation, and communication, to name a few).

In other words, we can pay for the deficits of today with inflation if we do nothing or we can pay for the deficits by growing the economy in real terms through investing in the full potential that exists in the human mind. I don’t know about you, but I prefer the latter.

Rescuing the Economy, Reinventing the Automobile

If you wonder why President Obama is focused on saving the American automobile industry, if you wonder why he is trying to upgrade and expand the electric grid, if you wonder why he wants government to invest in cutting edge technology in every field, look no further than the test facilities of dozens of auto manufacturers – here and abroad.

I count no less than 9 strictly electric cars heading to market right now, e.g., Aptera 2e, with 8 Plug-In Hybrids, e.g., Chevy Volt, right behind, and another 8 “normal” Hybrids, e.g., Toyota Prius, being improved and prepared for market today.

Big companies like BMW, Mitsubishi and Toyota are getting ready to roll out a slew of electrics. There’s a Mini Cooper available this month, all electric. Other electrics are lining up for introduction over the next four years.

Plug-In Hybrids will be led by the Volt that will do the bulk of its moving on electric power. It’s scheduled for November 2010. Ford, Chrysler and Toyota as well as new companies in China, Europe and here at home all have next generation hybrids in development. There’s a hybrid sports car known as Fisker Karma, and that airplane look alike, the Aptera 2h, set for 2010. Made in California, the only state where it is available right now, the Aptera gets about 300 mpg!! It’s a three-wheeler so technically not classified as a car, but who cares. Bring on that 300 mpg!

Look, it is not only the “green jeans” who will be buying these cars. It is ordinary people like you and me who want to help clean up the environment even as they drive a spiffy car their children won’t make fun of.

I love cars, always have, and that’s why I see an exciting future for America and a strong economy to support that future.

But, boy, have we lost a lot of time! I will not digress into a discussion of what the misadventure in Iraq cost us except to say it cost us something none can retrieve: time. Those who criticize President Obama’s haste on so many fronts should understand he is a man seeking to make up lost time. He is getting a lot of help from inventors in the auto industry who obviously have not been sleeping these past 8 years. President Obama and those in pursuit of scientific discovery are demonstrating a laser-like focus on the great potential remaining to be tapped in a nation of 315 million citizens. His focus is on health care, energy, and transportation.

Obama knows we have a unique opportunity to chart a new path in the way we get around. The answer, when it comes, is likely to have a positive impact on global warming by reducing our contribution to greenhouse gases. But most importantly, increased productivity, resulting from anticipated innovations, will feed real growth that, in turn, will diminish the role of inflation. And that is, unquestionably, our most worthy goal.

If you like the status quo, if you like cars that roar along antiquated roadways, burning a depleting carbon based resource, belching an ever increasing amount of noxious fumes, then you probably can’t see a future that has anything but higher taxes and bigger government in store for you. There are some, however, who see an America whose best days are ahead….and those days are unlike anything we have seen in our entire history.

Don’t you have a feeling the 21^st century began on January 20, 2009?