While I was Sleeping

This year, I really tried to pay attention to world, national and local events. I read the paper, I watched the news. Every day, my husband or I read the articles from Real Clear Politics, right and left, Republican and Democrat. We watched both primaries. We watched both conventions. We watched both candidates and all the debates.

So I really thought I was informed.

Forgive me, I missed something.

I don't remember any candidate saying, "Vote for me and I'll spend 3.55 TRILLION dollars in the first 40 days! And, as an added bonus, if that doesn't work, We'll spend MORE."

This Lent, I gave up Real Clear Politics, The Drudge Report, Politicio and Radio politcs commentary. I can read the paper in the evening, but the object is to not allow myself to obsess on the political during the day. But I can't shut off the world entirely, so I was aware of the President's speech, of his campaign for his plan and of how the Dow is currently at 7062 and showing no signs of doing anything but a crash dive.

So I'm just wondering, at what point, Will this country say, "Cut them off."
410 Billion for a budget. 750 Billion for the Big Three. 789 Billion for the Stimulus package. 250 Billion for Foreclosures. 750 Billion for the TARP. I had to do the math using a pencil because my calculator doesn't have room for that many zeros.

What scares me isn't just the current amount spent, but the speed. And mind you, we only started 2009. There will be more bills. It's not like Congress is going to stop writing checks unless we make them, and then, there will be fiscal budgets for 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Normally, I would stipulate that we probably wouldn't finance ANOTHER 789 billion dollar stimulus package in the same fiscal year, but as we have been told/warned, we might need to spend more. At the current course and speed, we are preallocating 600 billion or so a week, meaning by the end of December 2009, we'd have run up a tidy sum of 31 Trillion. I'm not saying we'll get there, only that this is the current rate at which we are spending. But, it isn't bad because we're only taking from the rich. The moral compass of Robin Hood does not good politics make.

Bring on the Sherriff of Nottingham.