Hope You Had a Nice Thanksgiving, Now Get Shopping

Each year the Christmas season seems to come earlier and earlier. This is no doubt the product of retailers eager to encourage Americans to spend their hard earned dollars, or more likely borrowed funds they do not have, on consumer goods they have little or no need for.

The reckless spending is encouraged with holiday decorations, radio stations playing Christmas music long before Thanksgiving, advertisements meant to cajole you into spending, and the false urgency created by the now ubiquitous Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. Despite my best efforts I often succumb to the urge to join everyone else in this nouveau holiday tradition… this year the only question is whether to buy the Nook Color or the Kindle.

I just worry that this buy now, pay later, mentality is going to catch up with us all.

This reckless spending isn’t only seen in the actions of the America public, it’s seen in the attitude of our elected leaders, both in Congress and the White House.

The clearest example of Congress acting like a teenager set free with their parent’s credit card is our national debt. As President Obama took office in January of 2009 our national debt stood at $10.6 trillion. Today, less than two years later, the debt has expanded to $13.7 trillion. The national debt has exploded — over $3 trillion in less than two years!

We can also see this mentality play out on an individualized basis via the earmarking process. In order to curry favor in their home districts Members of Congress have sought earmarks to promote their pet projects that are oftentimes unnecessary, unpopular, and an inappropriate use of taxpayer dollars.

Dr. Tom Coburn, Senator from Oklahoma, has documented Congressional pet projects and misuses of taxpayer funds. His reports would serve as great comic relief but for the fact that they document terrible abuses of our Congressional system. Recently Dr. Coburn has detailed bizarre niche projects found within economic stimulus programs.

Some egregious examples include over $750,000 in stimulus funds being given to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte to design an interactive dance software program called “Dance Tube.” At least $1.9 million dollars is being given to the California Academy of Sciences to photograph exotic ants. Nearly $500,000 will be spent providing BlackBerrys to individuals who are attempting to quit smoking. There’s over $750,000 going to a Georgia Tech assistant professor to study improvised music. The list goes on and on. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather spend my hard earned dollars buying a concert ticket than helping the government finance an assistant professor’s dreams of becoming a rock star.

I give credit to the incoming Republican members of the 112th Congress. Both the Senate and House Republican caucuses have pledged not to seek any earmarked funding. Some have gone so far as to demand that President Obama exercise some fiscal restraint and veto any measure that contains earmarked funding. It’s a start, but a lot of damage has already been done.

If all that government spending wasn’t enough, members of Congress and President Obama fought for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, better known as Obamacare. Not content to spend the tax dollars you’ve already given them, Congress and the President have mandated you spend your own money on government approved healthcare plans. Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli points out that this is just like the government ordering you to purchase a Chevy Equinox. We would never stand for that. By way of disclosure, Attorney General Cuccinelli owns a Chevy Equinox, and can vouch for the fact that you don’t want one.

This spending leaves a bad taste in my mouth. We need to change our attitudes towards spending and debt. Rather than buying that Kindle or Nook this Friday I’m going to exercise some fiscal restraint. I’ll lead by example — I’m going to sleep in this Friday. If only our government would follow my lead, we’d truly have something to be thankful for.