Dear Editor:
Is there any irresponsible behavior that government won't soon force responsible people to subsidize the negative impact thereof? Are we so incompetent that nanny state government must soon make all our decisions for us? Is the day of a person being responsible, and held accountable, for their actions long past?
Why are so many programs only worthwhile if they are funded by more debt being piled on the shoulders of future generations? Do we no longer care about our children? (The debt all levels of government continues to pile on future generations is much more a threat to future generations than global warming. Obama's 2017 budget projected that in 2021 over 11.2 percent of the federal budget would be spent on interest payments, it was 6.1 percent in 2016.)
A recent News Tribune article noted that "free money" from the Medicaid expansion allowed Kentucky, West Virginia, Michigan, Rhode Island & Ohio to boost their spending on substance abuse programs. It may be fine that these states boosted substance abuse spending buy why should my granddaughter and great-grandchildren have to pay interest on the additional debt incurred for this giveaway?
The 2015 median household income in Missouri was $48,200. It was $56,900 for Rhode Island. Why should residents of Missouri be forced to subsidize citizens in Rhode Island?
Why has the primary job of the federal government changed from national defense to becoming our sugar daddy? From 1962-2016 spending on National Defense increased by a factor of 1.48, but the percentage of the federal budget consumed by national defense dropped from 49 percent to only 15.3 percent. At the same time federal spending on Education, Training, Employment, Social Services, Health & Income Security increased by a factor of 12.86. Spending on those areas went from consuming 10.96 percent of federal spending to 29.6 percent of federal spending. It is now nearly twice what we spend on defense. Why do we hear complaints about spending on national defense, when it has dropped from being 49 percent of federal spending to only 15 percent of spending, while at the same time we hear cries for more free stuff, even though free stuff spending has increased from 11 percent of federal spending to 30 percent of spending.
All of the above figures are based on inflation adjusted dollars.