The Mid-Term Election and National Security

The mid-term elections are days away. The public is currently bombarded by an onslaught of campaign commercials which oftentimes paint a distorted caricature of the candidates and their positions.

Both political parties say the other party is too extreme. Democrats blame the Republicans for the current economic mess while Republicans charge Democrats for out-of-control government spending and a skyrocketing national debt.

The real culprit for the economic stagnation and high unemployment is both Democrats and Republicans. Each party is equally at fault for the financial mess we are in. In other words, this economic meltdown is the result of both Democrats and Republicans caring more for their own constituencies then for the American people.

The country is facing enormous challenges with persistent unemployment and record debt. The U.S. need only look across the ocean toward Europe and witness the calamity of their out-of-control government spending on entitlement programs. For decades European nations had generous benefits of entitlement programs which guaranteed them a cradle-to-grave benefit plan.

Unfortunately, the U.S. is currently heading down the same misguided path as the Europeans, spending lavishly on earmarks and entitlements without an established payment plan. The cancer of deficit spending has spread to states and local governments across the country. How can the U.S. ever expect to recover economically when some of its largest states are virtually broke and show no signs of improvement?

California is one of those states that is virtually broke. It boasts a $1.8 trillion economy and 13 percent of the U.S. economic output, but it’s penniless. Why!

This fiscal malaise is not only affecting the Not-So Golden State but also Nevada, New York, and others as well. All are broke and they're showing no signs of getting better. Why!

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 214,000 new jobs were created in the United States from August 2009 to August 2010. However, Texas created 119,000 jobs during the same period. Instead of treating businesses like they the enemy, Texas actually made it viable for businesses to grow. And they didn't do with new taxes and more regulations, either.

President Obama came into office on the mantra of “Change We Can Believe In.” Yet, the only change we have seen thus far is increased unemployment, more regulations and a health care reform bill that is weighed down in costs.

Let's hope by next week the new crop of legislative leaders will quit pointing the finger at each other and get to work in fixing this economic mess.