Seriously

It seems to me that we are in a time when our country has serious problems. The term crisis is bandied about, and I'm not sure that it is accurate. But we are near a crisis in our economic condition as a people and as a nation.

I see polls where the American people are asked about the biggest problem facing the country, and the economy and jobs rank in the top three always. It is not clear to me why the economy and jobs are decoupled. Unemployment and an ailing economy are the same thing. Without normal employment our economy cannot be considered healthy.

Fortunately the last election, and some of the people elected show a seriousness about addressing our problems. There are, finally, some people in Washington who realize that continued deficit spending will destroy the long-term health of our economy, and, perhaps, cause irreparable harm.

I am still astonished to hear that the solution proposed by some is to spend our way out of the current hole. That makes no sense either logically or economically. I have yet to see a credible economic model that demonstrates that further spending will do anything but make the situation worse.

It is our responsibility to support the adults in Washington in whatever way we can. And, conversely, to tell the children to be quiet and go back to playing with their Legos.