Sometimes I just want to throw up my hands...

This article was on MSN yesterday and made me want to pull my hair out. It basically goes into why the war in Iraq is not all that expensive because it is a smaller portion of our GDP than previous wars. I am still amazed that this crazy thinking is tolerated. I don't understand the disconnect between the out of control federal deficit and debt and how bad it is for the future of the country. I believe the total debt is about 6 trillion. I also believe that interest is now our third largest expense (around $300 billion a year). In a vacuum, that maybe doable debt-wise, but then add the borrowing from Social Security (even in the our best balanced budget year under Clinton, we borrowed $100 billion from SS) , Medicare, a trade deficit and the Bush tax cuts. I know people think I am wearing a tin-foil hat when I say that the US maybe headed towards insolvency, but I do think that is the reality.

We are quite simply living beyond our means. What is worse is that we are not going into debt to invest in research, education, restructuring our economy to deal with outsourcing and globalization which would likely payoff over the long-term. No, we are giving rich people tax cuts, paying for a war and spending big on corporate welfare. It is the equivalent of buying round after round of drinks for your friends when you got your first credit card in college. It seems like fun at the time, but when the bill comes you are shocked and cannot even remember how you spent so much. I am not normally an alarmist, but I think the financial state of our country is the biggest issue facing us.