The federal government is notorious for inefficient use of funds. Every dollar they tax for their own use is less than a dollar put back into the economy to spur economic growth. Obviously, there are some things only government can do: police, fire, national defense, etc. (I am not being exhaustive, just giving examples.)
When unemployment is high it leads to other things. Underemployment, for example. People who are qualified in terms of experience and education, but can't find as high a paying job as they could be worth. Also, people take part-time work when they would prefer full time. All three categories (unemployment, underemployment, and part-timers) lead to lower incomes and lower federal income tax receipts.
And yet, at this very time, the government is creating money from nothing to stimulate the economy. Newly created dollars decrease the value of savings and debt. Thus rewarding the bad behavior that caused the economic downturn and punishing those who were responsible with their money and lived within their means.
For anyone who can't turn on the printing press and get more money, it is time to tighten the belt and cut waste. If that works for everyone else, why not the government? I have done a fair amount of construction work for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and they cut their building budget by almost 75% this year. Obviously they are a financially sound organization and the federal government is not, but why not have the feds copy what people, businesses, and churches do?
Cut spending when times are lean. Sounds simple, right? Well, not likely with Democrats (or Republicans - let's be fair) in power. But we can dream, can't we?
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3 comments:
I don't get that. Why would the church cut their building program based on the economy? The church is growing just as fast this year. Now would be a great time for them to buy land and build buildings for much less. Subcontractors are practically giving away labor, aren't they?
I agree.
The Church cuts spending because tithing goes down as unemployment goes up. 10% of $0 is $0. The Church is, of course, beyond cautious with its funds. Nobody knew how bad it would get in January when budget decisions were made. I expect adjustments this January now that things are not getting any worse.
Besides, there is a backlog of Church projects that need to be done. Just because they didn't do them this year doesn't mean they don't need to be done.
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