the misinformation of debt and

who will ultimately pay the price of government ineptness

Redundant (adjective) (a): exceeding what is necessary or normal: superfluous. (c): characterized by similarity or repetition. 3: serving as a duplicate for preventing failure of an entire system (as a spacecraft) upon failure of a single component. (Merriam Webster’s Collegiate) 

I’ve heard it said: There’s good debt and bad debt. Buying a home on credit: supposedly good. To which, I never understood growing up. So, when I first flew from the parent’s coop, me being the dumb one, believed the Mastercard tagline: We (Mastercard and me) can do it all. So, I did it all believing: He who dies with the most toys wins. But what I actually discovered: It doesn’t work that way period. Because Mastercard got it all (the money) while I paid for it all (the interest). The antithesis of home buying, or is it? To compare: Take the national debt, including legislators believing the amount thereof can continue to grow unabated, evidenced by their lack of desire to control themselves. Like me dying with the most toys, compared with congressional spending today on taxes collected and credit borrowed to pay back tomorrow. Worse, the national debt interest alone compounds (grows) at a staggering one million dollars in less than two minutes, and every two minutes short thereof following. About two billion dollars daily, or more than 1 trillion dollars per year while gaining compounding speed, thus accelerating the amount of interest owed without spending a penny. In other words, at some point, the growing debt interest will outpace the outlandish government spending if someone doesn’t wake up, while the nation, in the free-for-all spending sprees, is currently 35 trillion dollars in debt. That’s twelve zeroes’ folks! Although, it could be worse, constitutionally speaking.

So, while the debt clock’s secondhand spins ever faster, the grander the promises from the two contenders, the more alluring each one appears to the hopeful Party voter. And do not think the other side is worse, or more concerned for anyone’s welfare other than Party power. Plus, I also suggest one better start to ponder if any of the promises being made are even constitutional. Practically speaking, who actually runs the country? And while the average citizen pays nothing in income tax, of those who do, they damn well better look at the debt burden their holding or passing on to those who have no earthly idea the mountain of debt they will be forced to pay, wondering who is actually going to cover this monstrosity of idiocy. Imagine, those today who don’t pay taxes, forcing those tomorrow who will have to pay taxes, income irrelevant.

  Anyway, back to the Constitution: The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States; (Article I/Section 8/1^st Clause). As well: To borrow Money on the credit of the United States; (Article I/Section 8/2nd Clause).

Notice the “To lay and collect Taxes” does not have to be uniform, and sadly, it’s that 2^nd clause bringing the country to insolvency due to the unethicalness of government. Which begs: Is there such a thing as good debt? Or, like I learned the hard way: Live within your means, spend less than you make, at times, even sacrificing a present desire (spending spree) for a future need being the better option. Now, entwined in Article I/Section 8/1^st Clause: “provide for the … general Welfare of the United States.” So, all things being equal, and if words are important, including the political desire to deceive more so, then the ability to define and understand them becomes tantamount to survival. Thus, and redundantly, using Webster’s 1828: 

Provide (verb transitive): To procure beforehand; to get, collect or make ready for future use; to prepare. Abraham said, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt-offering (Genesis 22). Provide neither gold nor silver nor brass in your purses (Matthew 10). Provide things honest in the sight of all men (Romans 12).

Provide (verb intransitive): To procure supplies or means of defense; or to take measures for counteracting or escaping an evil. The sagacity of brutes in providing against the inclemencies of weather is wonderful. Government is a contrivance of human wisdom to provide for human wants (Burke).

General (noun): The whole; the total; that which comprehends all or the chief part; opposed to particular.

Welfare (noun): Exemption from misfortune, sickness, calamity or evil; the enjoyment of health and the common blessings of life; prosperity; happiness; applied to persons.

So, if one reads the definitions above; provide, general, and welfare, together they grant Congress an open checkbook to enrich everyone (aside from themselves) equally if the taxpayer has the funds to fund. But the adage: Just because there’s checks in the checkbook, doesn’t mean there’s money in the bank, the Congress can always raise taxes or borrow liberally. The Constitution has no defined limits. So, when taxes are not enough, borrow. And when borrowing isn’t enough, tax. A vicious cycle as the ability or limit to tax and borrow is undefined: Think blatant theft. And the power of an income tax did not require a constitutional amendment: The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration (16^th Amendment/February 3, 1913). Go back to the Civil War when the first income tax was levied, then rescinded after the war. And if history repeats and dates are coincidental, what happened in 1914?

Now, in the buildup to the Constitution becoming the law of the land, battles raged between Federalists and Anti-Federalists. One of the sticking points being this clause, namely the power to tax undefined. But as one reads through the Constitution, there are also no limits set on the ability to spend. None! The free-for-all that requires the where-with-all of those elected to serve, to uphold the tenets of character, integrity, and morals. But exempt those traits, the nation stands today where it does, drowning in debt. And when it comes to taxpayer money: All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives (HOR); but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills (Article I/Section 7/1^st Clause). Thus, the people’s voice (HOR) while amassing massive debt, continues to borrow (Senate too), and freely spending, have set aside any good intentions of those who elected them to serve in Congress. Except, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. And regarding the people themselves, the same traits apply.

So, when it comes to political promises, just imagine: UBI (universal basic income); houses; new cars; college degrees (or how many years one wants to spend earning any number of them thereof); trade school; business startup funds; healthcare; monthly Christmas gifts; anything one can think of, all fall within the bounds of the government providing under the premise of constitutional authority. And constitutionally, it’s limitless. It just depends on one’s definition in defining “provide for the general Welfare.” But common sensically, things should be obvious to what the outcome will be. Take Obamacare, otherwise known as the Affordable Care Act. A blatant outright lie. It’s not affordable, but a constitutionally attainable proposition (healthcare) if it had been done correctly using character, integrity, or morals. So, what makes things unconstitutional: dividing by race, gender, religion, class, life status, income, etcetera. So, like Ragu: It’s in there! It just has to apply to everyone equally. Although, one must be realistic about who pays, never forgetting: The government must take from to give to. And that can be done constitutionally and unequally through taxation or borrowing. The vicious cycle of constitutional truth, justice, and the American way!

Now, as the debt increases, I know, Congress can just print more money, as the dollar loses even more value. And while my words appear a pattern of redundancy, I guess if one thinks about redundancy as the means to preserve, then maybe “serving as a duplicate for preventing failure of an entire system (as a spacecraft) upon failure of a single component.” And the nation’s debt is just one of many components set to fail if WE THE PEOPLE continue to follow a Party and not the Constitution. Except, in following the Constitution, it demands one have character, integrity, and a moral compass, otherwise it’s just prostitution of self or those supposedly being served. So, to close, looking through the prism of a kaleidoscope, one must consider the desire of Party to amass/assume greater power based on the premise (lie) of creating parity; the lie of the government being altruistic; the deceit (lie) of trusting legislators to look out for another’s best interest.