Around the Kitchen Table

With all the hand-wringing over the debt ceiling/budget deficit receiving 24/7 coverage both in the mainstream and alternate media, it has become increasingly popular to point fingers at the Republican Party as the chief culprits. While there should be no question that they are leading the charge toward austerity -- robbing the poor to keep the rich afloat -- it is wrong not to blame the Democrats as well.

If you only look at states with Democrat governors and/or legislatures, they too are following the currently-accepted blueprint of slashing spending, while refusing to increase revenue (i.e., tax the rich). This is the strategy being used by Brown (California), Cuomo (New York), Kitzhaber (Oregon) and Gregoire (Washington), to just name a few.

So, while I agree with the overall point of the following snippet written by Trish Ponder at Pensito Review, I simply wish to make the point that both ruling parties are culpable!

When Republicans aren’t telling us how they want to run government like a business, they bluster on about handling government finances like Americans do around their kitchen table. If they can’t afford something, they don’t buy it. If their credit card is at its limit, they quit charging on it. Blah-blah.

Except this isn’t how either businesses or family finances work. At least, not in my world.

I happen to have a business. And while I do all I can to cut costs, I recognize that if I am to stay in business I simply must spend money. There are minimum levels of expenses that I have to meet: computers and software must be maintained, bills for internet access and domain names have to be paid, and on and on. And when I come up short for these costs, I do what I can to increase revenue.

Any successful business owner knows there is a point beyond which cost-cutting alone solves problems. In fact, to cut beyond those levels can put you out of business. If you cut your staffing or hours or locations so customers are dissatisfied, they will leave you. If you slash spending to the point you’re offering inferior products or services, they will leave you over that. And if you stop paying your staff or overhead, you might as well put out the “Closed” sign and walk away.

The same is true of the fabled kitchen table financials. Sure, you can get by without cable TV and you can cut your auto insurance coverage and you can even start shopping at the Scratch and Dent Food Store. But if all this fails to help you meet your remaining monthly bills, you will probably look at cleaning out the garage onto eBay or Craig’s List, getting a second job, cashing in a low performing retirement account, and whatever else you can think of to bring in more money...