Why Government Budget Accountability Matters

I watched Fox News for about ten minutes the other day because my friend was.  My friend is politically liberal, so I asked him why he was watching Fox.  He said he was trying to become more tolerant.  I found that admirable, so I sat down with him.  He gave me some pizza, which was a nice bonus.

I quickly realized Fox News’s story was far different from what I would hear from a liberal news outlet.  I also realized that if I were only getting news from one side or the other, my perspective would be significantly skewed in that direction.  I don’t consider myself a Republican or a Democrat simply because I don’t side with them on all issues.  I’m an issue-to-issue kind of guy.  I guess you could call me an Independent.  I side with Democrats on healthcare, public school funding, first and second amendment issues, and criminal justice reform.  However, I side with Republicans in that I hate taxes and bureaucracy.  Some would say, “How will you pay for healthcare if you don’t raise taxes?”  Well, here is the answer to that question.

There are two sides to every balance sheet.  If you want to spend more money on healthcare without taking more money in, then you cut spending on other things.  Any honest businessman knows that if you are a business hemorrhaging money (which we are – the national debt is over $21 Trillion and counting as I write this), the very first thing you do is take inventory of all of your expenses and cut every single dime that isn’t necessary.  So what’s necessary?  What do you want the government to provide for you?  Healthcare, schools, roads and rails, law enforcement, and the military.  That’s about it.  Every other dime gets cut.

So what gets cut, then?

I don’t know.  And nobody knows.  And that’s the problem.  We’re still only getting half the story.  The government doesn’t publish an annual budget.  They don’t have to, but they should be required.  They all should be required: Federal, state, and local governments.  They should all have to publish their budgets each year.  The government should have to report to us just like we have to report to the IRS and the state agencies.  They should be held accountable, just like we are.  And that report should be ON TIME, EVERY TIME, just like when we must pay our taxes.

What this country needs is an audit.  An unbiased look at where our money is going.  Because nobody knows right now.  If I was going to run for President, and I someday might, it will be on the platform that we’re going to audit the books of every federal, state, and county government in the country.  We’re going to find out where our money is going.  Then we’ll know what to do.  The public doesn’t know what to do right now because we’re listening to the media and only getting half the story.  Meanwhile, the crook politicians in Washington and elsewhere are making out like bandits because they don’t have to be held accountable.  Where’s the accounting?  Where are the balance sheets?  That’s what we’re missing.  We, THE PEOPLE, need a national audit, which must be made public so everyone can see how their money is being spent.  Then we would have some real answers.

Heads will roll, but people will finally get what they deserve.