These policies are a Trojan horse creating not only a mentality of government reliance, but also a mindset where a lifestyle of permanent debt is acceptable. Not long ago, someone paying massive interest to finance things they couldn’t afford was looked upon as irresponsible, and their behavior shameful.

Now, instead of debt being an unfortunate necessity for massive purchases like a house, everything is being financed by interest-bearing debt. If you can’t afford something, don’t save up until you have the money, just put it on a credit card and pay 12% or 20% interest for years. This interest can double the sticker price, cutting in half people’s purchasing power and plunging them ever-deeper into debt.

For purchases like a house, many are leveraging themselves out as far as the bank will allow, rather than exercise self-restraint. A person who can responsibly afford payments on a $200,000 house is now more likely to get a $400,000 house, put other expenses on a credit card and barely make the minimum payments. It’s the people engaging in such behavior who got swamped when the housing bubble burst.

Being able to responsibly steward your resources, live within your means and plan for the future is a family value. Proverbs says, “The borrower is a slave to the lender.” Those who claim the Bible (or some other text) as a guiding authority have plenty of scriptural admonition to work toward being financially self-sufficient.

Many social and economic conservatives don’t work together because some of their leaders don’t like each other. Many economic conservatives don’t care for the religiosity of many social leaders, and treat them with the same disdain that liberals do. Many social conservatives are turned off by the moral failings and personal choices of some economic leaders, and don’t feel comfortable partnering with them. The few who are leaders in both camps are frustrated in their efforts to bridge this divide.

Both groups need to get past these differences and work together. It’s not about economic leaders professing false conversions or social leaders abandoning their standards. It’s about recognizing common interests and fighting for their children.

Politicians rail that their constituents demand government to be run like their family budget, living within their means. But that’s exactly the problem that causes runaway government spending. Too many families are not living within their means, they’re living in never-ending debt. And as they get comfortable with this debt and convey the message to their kids that such debt is okay, they don’t protest enough when the government incurs the same kind of long-term debt.

With liberal Democrats controlling the Congress and the White House, conservatives cannot afford internal conflicts. As Benjamin Franklin said during the American Revolution, “We must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.”