As I watched that 60-minute-long news program last week I wasn’t sure how to feel. I learned that our government is giving seemingly hand-picked companies over $100 billion to produce fiber optics. During the interview, viewers also learned that the funds came with a hitch – the company is required to provide daycare. The government person being interviewed wouldn’t admit the stipulation was a forced requirement, but it didn’t take too much brain power to figure out that if a company seeking the funds didn’t provide daycare they would be unlikely to get the taxpayer’s gift that would help them build their company. Don’t get me wrong, I believe company-provided daycare would be a fantastic benefit to families with working parents; if the company can afford it. The reason I wasn’t sure how to feel about our government using our tax dollars to fund production facilities, operated by American workers to manufacture fiber optics, is because I remember a while ago when our government bailed out the auto industry and how angry that move made some people feel. Why were they angry? Because it didn’t feel fair that the auto industry was given taxpayer dollars to straighten out their companies and the messes they created themselves. The question was asked, “What about all the little companies that fight for their survival every single day?” Or, “How big does a company have to be to get government help?” Good questions. A question I would ask, and probably never get an answer to, would be, “What is the selection process used to pick companies who will receive these funds?” It’s probably a very privileged few – one of those “you have to know the right people” scenarios. During that same news program, viewers also learned that our government is giving Ukraine another $98 billion to help them in the war against Russia. I’ve said this for a long, long time – how in the world can the United States afford to spend the money it spends? The answer has always seemed simple to me – it can’t. That’s why our government’s debt continues to grow and grow. What’s sad to me is that it doesn’t feel like anyone is working vigorously to stop the upward spiral of our government’s debt. Things as we know them have to change – but who’s going to get it done when those who run our country don’t seem to be bothered by the fact that they are deficit spending, that’s probably because the United States has been spending way more money than is collected for many, many years, and it has become the norm. As far as I can tell, for this situation to change and get corrected it’s going to be at the expense of the American taxpayer – and it’s going to be tough. Have A Good Week!
04-30-2024 Corner Copy
