Running Out of Time and Money

Image via WikipediaRemember watching those old movies where the damsel in distress is tied to the railroad track with a speeding train headed in her direction, only to be saved by the hero at the last second?

Now think of this same scenario with federal and state governments instead of the damsel, with politicians arguing over how best to rescue it.  Meanwhile, the train gets closer . . .

In a few weeks, the United States government will default on $14.3 trillion in loans unless Congress raises the debt ceiling for the umpteenth time.  Officials such as Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner and Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke have warned of dire consequences to the economy if this isn't done.

But like everything else in Washington, what needs to be done usually takes a back seat to partisan politics.  The Republicans want to see spending cuts of at least $2 trillion.  The Democrats say that's fine, so long as you don't touch Social Security, Medicare or any other entitlement program.

The same goes with state governments.  In Minnesota, if GOP legislators and Democratic governor Mark Dayton can't agree on a way to whack down the state's $6 billion budget shortfall by July 1, a shutdown is all but inevitable.

So far, both sides seem to care more about what services should remain open after the deadline instead of getting a deal done and ready for a special session.  Otherwise, the two sides remain far apart.

When you owe that much money to creditors such as China and Japan so that you can continue to provide employment and services to your fellow citizens, and you're having trouble paying it back, then there is clearly something wrong.  No one wants to face the truth over what to do about it.

We already have a fragile economy that's allegedly on the rebound.  Nine percent of Americans are unemployed, and the rest that do have jobs are afraid to spend the money they have.  Why make things worse when members of both parties can't agree on how to keep the states and the country from going bankrupt?

So what's it going to be?  Is someone going to ride in and save us all from a fate worse than death, or is that too much to ask in this day and age?  And why are we using movie cliches, anyway?