Cutting Spending and Creating an Unfortunate Deficit

Saving money is a good thing right? Cutting costs is beneficial right? A government that controls spending and can lower taxes is in all our best interest right? Well... maybe not.

Sadly... short sighted thinking like that can lead to all sorts of long term problems.

It's the Labour Day long weekend as I write this. The end of summer and the beginning of the school year. Which makes a post by professor Michael O'Hare all the more appropriate. He's written an open letter to his new students where he tries to apologize to them for the terrible swindle that has been pulled against them.

Read professor O'Hare's letter and ask yourself a simple question. Can you even imagine a politician explaining what needs to be done in these terms? Can you imagine a policy maker putting forth a program that isn't immediately popular by explaining the long term impact on our children and our society?

Me neither. Which is a shame. Any politician who can begin to see that far ahead would get my attention. Sometimes policy has to be about more than just the money involved.