We’re broke.
But you knew that.
The credit cards are maxed out, and the repo men are on their way to take our big screen and dinette set.
No more fun of any kind.
Now comes a contingent of lawmakers with a brilliant, if not redundant idea: the "Cut Cap Balance Pledge."
The idea is a simple one, go to http://cutcapbalancepledge.com and take the pledge to urge your senators ands representative to enact substantial, deficit reducing spending cuts, create spending caps designed to help the country reach a balanced budget, and to add a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, such as the Lee-Cornyn-Hatch Balanced Budget Amendment.
Three of the legislators: Orrin Hatch, Mike Lee and Jason Chaffetz are from my state of Utah.
I’ve interviewed these men many times, and I know they are sincere.
I don‘t for a minute doubt their intentions to bring their colleagues in the Senate and House into line.
And I think Lee-Cornyn-Hatch is long overdue.
But Erick Erickson over at Red State had a great point in that the time for “urging” is over.
While I have faith in my legislators, I also think that urging those in Congress and the Senate to pass a balanced budget amendment has been done.
It was called the Tea Party.
It was an entire summer of rank and file Americans telling the Marble Mafia in no uncertain terms that it's time for the spending spree to come to an end.
The blue light special is over.
We spent a year urging them, and punctuated it with the 2010 elections.
And on Tuesday the big news about the debt ceiling was that Eric Cantor and Steny Hoyer managed to agree that a short term solution to the issue was not a viable answer.
Wow. Really covered some ground there.
These people in D.C. know how we feel about the debt ceiling and spending. By all means they should take the pledge.
But when you “urge” your legislator to get serious about a balanced budget, remind them in no uncertain terms that elections have consequences.
One of those consequences is that those in Congress and the Senate who fail to support a balanced budget may find themselves in the unemployment line in January of 2013.