A reality 'check' you can cash...

Change, it's all the rage. From late night info-mercials to presidential campaigns. YOU need to CHANGE, WE need to CHANGE, CHANGE we can believe in...etc...

Well, quite frankly, you can keep your Change. Someone is...and spending it in unprecedented fashion.

Seriously, what about the last election cycle? Where is the change? What is 'New'? New rhetoric....not really. New tactics...no, not there either. You see, taxing & spending is not new. Not at all, the only thing different is that under the guise of "change" we have a whole heck of a lot more of it. Every time we have a Dem Executive branch (President) aligned with a Dem Legislative branch (House/Senate) we see an increase in spending and then taxes to pay for it. That’s same-'ol, same-'ol politics to me. Nothing changed...

I pray that next election cycle someone decides to run on a 'reality'. Slogan: "Keep the change, I want my country back... Vote XYZ Candidate 2012"

With all the new government controls (auto industry, finance, healthcare, even tobacco...), Unprecedented Spending, and...*newsflash*...taxes will increase; FOR EVERYONE...not just the $250k and above wage earners as promised. BHO is going to make an appeal soon...it started with the most recent 'roll up your sleeves' email, next will be 'empty your wallets, it's patriotic'. Trust me, its coming. In 2012, Someone needs to give the country back to the people.

We need to get back to what made this country great in the first place. Innovation, Values, Hard Work, Dedication...too many costly services are provided to too many 'eligible' (I use the term eligible very loosely) people.

Oh, but we can't cut these 'necessary' services. Really? Why not? Well, old folks may not get their medications, single mom's may not have reliable daycare, people may not get their Digital TV converter boxes, the auto industry may no longer produce cars in America, Congress won’t get new hybrids, the military will buy a few less tanks/jets/missiles, we may never see Universal Healthcare, etc...

I'm sorry, am I the only one who says that everything is negotiable? From medications, to WIC services, to defense spending...it's all fair game when you have multi-trillion dollar deficits.

The entire system is wrought with waste as well as opportunities to fine tune the budgets. Not all people who qualify for government provided social services (including welfare) need it. We've all seen the lady at the grocery store with the two carts full of groceries telling the cashier ..."Oh the front cart is for WIC"... while the back cart is loaded with junk food and cigarettes. I've always said if there were an actual audit service with a bonus structure to find waste, we'd find it, and it would more than pay for itself. BHO, are you listening? I just created X (insert your overly aggressive made up number here) jobs that would actually put money back into the taxpayers pocket. Daycare can be provided by other welfare recipients as an education/job training program. Did I just create more jobs? Wow! Most of all. Welfare is made temporary; with a set timetable that has a beginning and an end. Call it an 'exit strategy' for Welfare. The Social worker is simply a Program/Project Manager with set milestones and held accountable to his/her performance. Heck, bonus them for successful early conversions from welfare to work. Hey, you can make this a new job too! I'm on a roll!

The point is, we can all agree these are tough times, and tough times require tough decisions. The government is not responsible for my TV, my insurance, or my milk and eggs. Non-profits (with appropriate tax incentives) and other organizations can, and often do, pick up the slack when it comes to helping people thrive.

Also, at our very core, is an innovative, hard working American. Some of us lack the serious motivation to act the part when it is too easy to accept the easy way out.

No one was, or at least should have been, raised to fail. In fact, it can likely be scientifically proven that if you create a system, someone will find a way to take advantage of it. That, as poor of an example as there is, is innovation at work. Let's get people to take advantage of circumstances rather than our government.