I recently read this news story about the $17 Billion dollars that President Obama is seeking to cut out of the U.S. budget.  Here’s the link to the news story:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090507/pl_nm/us_obama_budget

On the surface, $17 Billion seems like a huge amount of money.  The problem is that the government now is so ridiculously big that we’re dealing in the Trillions for our national budget, and these numbers just don’t “compute” in real-world terms.

To properly understand this $17 Billion “cut” in the budget, we need to draw an analogy with a typical American family budget:

Government Budget = $3.55 Trillion
Trying to “trim” the budget by = $17 Billion
$17 Billion is less than 0.5% of the budget!!

Average Family = $60,000  (an easy number for this example)
What is 0.5% of $60,000??  =  $300

Okay, so to put this in perspective, if you have an average family income of $60,000 you would need to cut roughly $300 from your ANNUAL budget.  Which further breaks down into $25/mo.  Could you find a way to save $25/mo?  I’m SURE you could.  Actually, in this difficult economy, how many of you have cut MUCH MORE than that already?  I know we have!  And I can almost guarantee that the average American family has far less “waste” or “unnecessary expenses” in their budget already.

C’mon government, you HAVE to do better than this.  I’d expect at least a 2%-5% cut if you REALLY had the desire for change!  I haven’t yet done much research, but I’ll bet the government is GROWING faster than 0.5% every year, which means this isn’t really a CUT is it?  No, its actually just a reduction in the amount of growth.

Let’s all show the government how its done!  Be frugal, be industrious, pay as little tax as you legally can, get out of debt, operate under a balanced budget and be giving.

One of my inspirations is Dave Ramsey.   I suggest those who don’t know Dave get acquainted with his ideas on money.  Principles I wish I had learned better awhile ago, but am happy to be following now.  If ONLY we could get the government to attend Dave’s “Financial Money Makeover!!”

There are a few immediate benefits of having Barack Obama elected in the manner he was elected:
 

• Barack won by a definitive number, going nicely over 50% of the popular vote and over 2:1 in the electoral college.  America’s choice is clear, unlike the 2000 debacle.
   
• Almost without fail, the international community supported Barack.  Let’s hope that Barack’s win will immediately increase America’s standing internationally.
   
• It proves that opportunity and dreams are alive for people in America, regardless of age, race, religion, political leanings, etc.
   

Now that he has been given the clear consent of the majority of America, President-Elect Obama faces a huge challenge.  America needs strong leadership to get things done!  It’s time to stand up to the bickering politics, the self-serving interests of wealth without compassion and the image of America as an aggressor around the world.

Here are my TOP 5 items for the new President to tackle head-on, as soon as possible.
 

1. THE MILITARY

   Immediately begin a plan to withdraw troops from places all around the world that are not requesting our assistance nor need it.  It is time to rebuild America, and we cannot afford to prop up the entire world.  Work WITH the United Nations to stop egregious acts of tyranny, like ethnic cleansing, but we can no longer operate outside our own country with disregard to the rest of the world.
    

2. ENERGY

   Barack Obama promised energy-independence in 10 years.  Not only is this possible, it is very attainable, but only if we stand up to the monopoly that big oil companies have on this country!  Our President’s have promised for 30 years now to remove our dependence on foreign oil (back to the days of Jimmy Carter) and yet nothing has been done.

   Bring back the ELECTRIC car as an option… whether its a plug-in hybrid or other form.  We can build an electric infrastructre quickly and easily.  ELECTRICITY can be generated in many 100% renewable ways, including human power, solar power, wind power, wave & tidal power.  Brand new industries will emerge providing solutions for renewable electricity generation, bringing thousands of new jobs and new money.  (Go watch the movie “Who Killed the Electric Car!’)
    

3. HEALTHCARE

   The system is broken and needs major restructuring.  I’m all for individuals being able to join a larger “government group” to reduce personal healthcare premiums, as suggested by Mr. Obama.  Get it done!  Next stop frivilous lawsuits against medical professionals which drives costs through the roof.  After that, we MUST establish reasonable costs for medical procedures.  It’s wrong that doctors markup their fees & costs by 50% because they know insurance will cut it by 30-50%.  Healthcare providers must charge a fair price, then individuals and insurance companies could afford to pay it.
    

4. MONEY SUPPLY & BUDGETING

   Mr. Obama in his acceptance speech talked about a difficult time ahead that would require sacrifice.  Nowhere is sacrifice more necessary than in government spending.  For the love of the country Mr. Obama… please do exactly what you said and have teams of smart, financially knowledgeable people go LINE-BY-LINE through the government books.  Eliminate programs that don’t work, cut costs and waste everywhere possible.  Why not even reduce the salaries being paid to our senators and congressman.  They don’t work as hard as the average American, let’s see them sacrifice too!  All together now, reach across the aisle.

   The budget HAS to not only be balanced, but we need to start paying down the debt.  Americans are going bankrupt at an alarming rate, but they’ve only been doing exactly what the government is doing, except the individual cannot simply run the money printing presses to pay for their debts.  America will soon be bankrupt at its current rate of spending, and the government is killing the citizens wealth with its constant devaluation of the currency.  It HAS to stop!  Government needs to sacrifice in a BIG way.
    

5. SOCIAL SECURITY / MEDICARE / Entitlements

   Another ticking time bomb.  When the baby boom generation starts to retire, there will eventually (and sooner than we wish) be nowhere near the money coming in to the system to pay the promised benefits.  That is simply a fact.  Social Security cannot continue the way it was created.  Life expectancy continues to rise, meaning longer and longer periods of time to pay benefits.  Scientific breakthroughs might even raise longevity in the next few decades to a possible 150 years!

   There is no easy answer, but Americans need to get away from an entitlement mentality.  I am only 34, and I do not expect nor believe Social Security will be around for me.  But we also cannot eliminate it, as there are many who are sustained by its benefits.  We must somehow begin to reduce the promised benefits for those in the future while providing more support to non-profit charitable companies who provide necessary “saftey net” options instead of Social Security.  Let’s begin setting up programs where housing, food, and basic necessities of life are provided for the needy.  Instead of doling out checks to individuals, the government can begin paying Social Security to the companies that provide… and individuals can personally donate to the same necessary organizations.
    

I realize this is not an exhaustive list, nor even a very detailed list.  Even my mention of these TOP FIVE problems are barely touching the surface of the many underlying facets.

Americans have elected a President who has promised the Change We Need.  Now its time to start those changes.  It is either a time for greatness (for the ones who will solve the issues) or a time for great disappointments.  There is no longer time to simply tow-the-line, and be business as usual in America.

Our hopes are now on you, Mr. Obama, and the leadership you must bring to solve the problems.  You promised to listen to us… and so I have done my patriotic duty to communicate some of my deepst concerns — and conversely my greatest hopes for our Great Nation to rise above them all.