The Future of America

Today, we were listening to more of Barack Obama's comments from the Saddleback Forum. One thing that he said struck me. The quote is "a critical juncture economically...(skipped a few parts)... we have to make some big decisions not just for us but for the next generation". That is one of the wisest things that I have heard Obama ever say, although I doubt he meant it in the same way that I take it. We are definitely at a critical juncture economically, and we need to make some changes so that the next generation can have the same benefits that we have. The size of our federal government is growing out of control, and we are promising things that we will never be able to pay for. Social Security will be bankrupt, our Medicare program has been greatly expanded, and the government takes a greater and greater portion of our country's resources for ever-expanding entitlements.
Obama is right that we are at a critical juncture, but his plans to increase the size of our government are the wrong direction. As a Republican, I am dissapointed in President Bush for adding billions of dollars of entitlements to our future spending, but Obama will take a bad situation and make it much worse. Hopefully John McCain will be elected and will have the courage to tackle the size of our government in the ways he talks about. It is completely irresponsible for us to leave our children with these unpayably huge debts. Lets work toward electing leaders who will make the tough decisions to shrink government programs.