Cartoonist Scott Adams - he does Dilbert - says "I'd like to see a Constitutional Amendment that makes anyone in federal office ineligible for another elected term if the budget isn't balanced during the current term."

Interesting. He also distinguishes between philosophy and plan.

If you think government should reduce spending, that's a philosophy, not a plan.

If you think small government is good, that's a philosophy, not a plan.

If you think the government should provide a safety net for the poor, that's a philosophy, not a plan.

We have a situation where the number of working adults in this country is shrinking, and the number of retirees is growing. My proposal is that we fix that with immigration reform because if we made a bunch of babies, it'd be a quarter century before they enter the workforce in force, and it'd be terribly expensive to educate them. We can import grown and educated workers from Mexico in months, for almost nothing. That's a plan.

So What's YOUR Plan?

It's also a plan to say that we should cut back social programs in order to match revenues when the number of workers shrinks and the number of retirees, with the result that 50% of the old and disabled move in with family, sucking up money that would otherwise be used for leisure and/or education, and the other 50% become homeless. If that's your plan. If you simply advocate cutting back the programs and ignoring the consequences, that's not a plan, that's a philosophy.

Pay your money, and take your choice. As long as you are aware of what you're advocating, that's acceptable. Just remember, I don't know of anyone who hoped to retire early because of health issues, and I don't know anyone who proclaimed, when he was a little boy, that he wanted to grow up to live under a bridge.

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homelessness - immigration - philosophy - plan - retirees - Scott Adams - social programs