this is radio tabs

One has listened to endless commentary about the deficit and debt, this opinion, that opinion, everybody has an opinion. What it boils down to is what vision of America is going to prevail in the years to come. On the BO/Dem side of the ledger it is social justice and social democracy where a large and thus expensive government takes an activist role in lives of its citizens. On the Republican side of the ledger a smaller lean and mean government leaves it up to the individual to take responsibility for themselves. Both sides of the issue have become polarized to the point where neither side listens to nor trusts the other side. This has led to an increasing dysfunctionality of the US government since the mid 1990's. With the voting down of the first go around of TARP in the fall of 2008 the US government showed itself to be a dysfunctional entity, as the government was not able to do what was necessary to save the nation from fiscal collapse. We are again staring that dysfunctional reality in the face with the negotiations over lifting the Debt Ceiling. Each side is seeking advantage in the outcome of the issue and neither side is willing to give much of anything even if they proclaim that they are at the top of TV volume control. The creditors of America in the world are sitting on the sidelines watching this drama play itself out with an aghast look on their faces. For what is truly at risk here is confidence in America to be able to take care of its business in a responsible way. If America once again acts irresponsibly the damage will not be repairable anytime soon as trust in America will have been lost and that has real consequence. At this point in time the American government still has choices to make in how it wants to address the deficit and debt issues, but the reality is that everyday that goes by the debt gets larger and the risk increases till a debt crisis is upon America and then it will be too late as America will not have any choices left to make, they will have been made by the extengencies of the situation, which will effectively end the Progressive era in America. Reality will have dictated a cruel and uncertain fate upon the American people as America will ceased to be able to contribute not only to its own good but for the good of the world as well.