Dear GOP: Please budget like an American Family

[Jazz Ambassador]

NOTE: If I had a blog, I'd put this there. But I don't, and I just need to get it off my chest.

Dear GOP congressman and pundits,

I hear a lot from you guys about how "government should budget like an American family," and I thought it might help you pursue this worthwhile goal if you understood how an American family budgets. I realize normal family life may be a mystery to you all, so I'll toss in relevant government analogies where appropriate.

Right now, like our country, our family is both in debt and running an annual deficit. How did we get here? Well, it was pretty much a combination of big expenses we couldn't really avoid (think of those as Afghanistan); big expenses that were totally unnecessary (think of those as Iraq); and giving up income a while back when times were good (the wife quit her job to freelance -- think of that as the Bush tax cuts). Then, a couple of years ago, we were hit by an economic crisis (daughter's college's endowment shrunk after the crash of 2008, and so they stopped coming through with the financial aid we expected -- think of that as the ongoing Great Recession).

So I'll bet you're saying, "Gee, Jazz Ambassador, that sure does sound familiar! Golly, I wonder what the wise American family, so much more intelligent and virtuous than the government, does in these circumstances?"

I'm glad you asked. Here's what we're doing:

1) We're continuing to take care of infrastructure (both routine and emergency repairs on the house are still being made)
2) We're continuing to take care of those in need (wife's ongoing medical condition is still being treated)
3) We're continuing to take care of our daughter's education (she starts her senior year next month)

"But," I hear you ask, "how can you do that? You're in debt!" Simple:

1) We're raising revenue (wife stopped freelancing and went back to full-time work)
2) We're continuing to borrow money to pay for things we deem necessary (like surgeries and tuition)
3) We've stopped buying shiny new toys (I mean hi-tech goodies but feel free to think "weapons systems") that we can no longer afford
4) Even though we're inveterate travelers, we've stopped spending money on overseas adventures so we can take care of things at home.

That's the plan: increase domestic revenue, borrow money when necessary, cut the budget for nifty but unnecessary gadgets, stop spending on our overseas adventures. Simple, ain't it? And you know what? It's worked like a charm, and projecting outward 10-20 years I can see that we'll be just fine. Just thought you should know.

Sincerely,

An American Family