When the problems of Greece hit close to home

Americans have been in shock watching the images of buildings — and even people — in flames as the government of Greece implements austerity measures to stop the bleeding caused by decades of irresponsible fiscal policies and socialism. We Americans naturally think, "thank God I still live in the US. That could not happen here."

Recently Dale Hurd of CBNNews.com has painted a dark future of our own republic if we do not change our spending priorities. Furthermore, he points out several scenarios — none of them pleasant — if we fail to fundamentally change the direction our country is going.

Hurd points out in his column that the "federal debt as a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product now stands officially at around 60 percent. But with the course the country is on, it will hit 150 percent in 10 years, and 300 percent by 2050" (emphasis added). He goes on to compare our situation with the one in Greece, which began to spiral when its debt reached 115 percent of GDP. We will reach and surpass that number in less than ten years. Because Greece is a member of the European Community and its currency is tied to the Euro like most member countries, other countries have (at least) a short term incentive to bail the country out in order to protect the value of their money. Those countries are, in fact, doing just that. Who will bail out the United States? Considering the disdain by other countries towards the US, one should not have any hope that others will come to the rescue.

The columnist quotes Anne Vorce of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, who said she is not sure when America will enter economic crisis, but noted that "The problem is you don't know when you reach a tipping point until you reach it, but we're well beyond normal peacetime historical experience already." If the US entered into any additional major national security conflicts or faced any series of natural (or other disasters), we could find our situation deteriorate rapidly.

What I found most disconcerting about the article was the words by Hurd about the future of the United States of America. He said we only have to look to our friends in Argentina to find a disturbing window of the future. "Before World War II, Argentina was one of the most prosperous nations in the world. With a strong industrial base and thriving middle class, it attracted immigrants much like America. But within 15 years, Argentina went one of the richest nations to one of the poorest. Argentina President Juan Peron, who some historians say was a fascist, fomented class warfare and bashed business, banks and the wealthy. He made labor unions his allies and unleashed massive social spending that the nation couldn't afford." This sounds eerily familiar as we have a sitting President with certain obvious "corporatist" inclinations and disdain for those in the entrepreneurial (most of whom are middle income) class.

So what does the future hold? Experts point to several possible scenarios, none of which offer much to be optimistic.

Long term economic stagnation. We as a nation simply get use to doing without. High unemployment becomes the rule rather than the exception and the idea of an expanding economy and growing opportunities becomes something for the history books. Many experts see this as one of the better scenarios.

On the opposite end — and the worst case scenario — we have a government that goes into default. This means it cannot fulfill financial obligations, pay its bills, and it leads to a rush on the dumping of its Treasury bonds as countries no longer see us as a good investment.

Another possibility is hyperinflation. On a single day last year the US Government pumped $1.4 trillion into the money supply in order to offset the high cost of bailouts. This "funny money" has the potential of devaluing all dollars that are out there and it appears this approach to monetary policy could become a permanent part of our economic strategy.

The bottom line is that the US is going to have to make tough decisions about the future of our spending or the consequences of our behavior will make decisions for us. "Doing nothing" is a course that was followed by countries like Argentina that was propelled from a major economic player into third world status. There has to be a better way for the United States of America.

Kevin Price is a nationally syndicated columnist and host of the Price of Business on CNN Radio. Learn more about him and his activities at www.PriceofBusiness.com.

A Radical Solution to our Fiscal Crisis

I have been writing for decades, but I have probably used the word "crisis" more in the last two years in my articles than in all the other years combined. There is a reason for that, the use of such hyperbole gets old. I think such words should be used with restraint or they will eventually fall upon deaf ears. Unfortunately, any word short of "crisis" simply does not make the grade in the times we live in today. The government is doing more (poorly) and spending more (than ever) and it is bankrupting our futures and the futures of those who will not even be born for several generations to come.

Currently the national debt is now growing at a rate annually that originally took almost 200 years for our country to reach for the first time. We are a nation in financial ruin and we continue to spend as if money grew on trees. Desperate times call for desperate measures. It is time for Americans to seriously consider the damage that comes from mob rule.

According to the government's own statistics, less than half of all Americans even pay taxes. This is significant because we now have a country where the majority is lulled into sleep as the minority is essentially oppressed by those who have "no skin" in the political process. They have absolutely no problem with spending growing out of control because whatever they receive is with minimum burden on them.

Meanwhile USA Today reports that well over half of the population receives direct assistance of various types from the federal government. This includes perennial welfare moms and the super rich who enjoy government bailouts.

The terrible situation we are in begs for radical change. The Constitutional type. In the early days of the Republic, people had to be property owners and even taxpayers before they were allowed to vote. Furthermore, the federal government was very limited in what it could do. With only seventeen enumerated powers and those voting having a vested interest, frugal government was much easier to achieve and maintain.

The principles of frugal government can be found on the micro level. If a board of directors of an organization or business has a vote on an item that directly benefits one of those decision makers, that person is expected to abstain. It only makes sense. If that did not happen there would be cries of impropriety and would plant the seeds of financial ruin for any group or company.

The United States is going to have to take a similar approach to solve its financial problems. The classical economist John Stuart Mill advocated the bold proposition that, if people received any government assistance, they would have to turn in their right to vote until they were no longer on the government dole. This policy would apply to the mega rich, the very poor and everyone in between who were getting direct government assistance. People seem to be concerned about "influence peddling." They warn about lobbyists and political action committees throwing money at politicians in order to get their vote on key issues. Yet, influence peddling runs both ways -- it is a two sided coin. Politicians who want to get reelected make all sorts of promises of money, goods, or services in order to buy votes. If the voter became disenfranchised while on the government's budget, politicians would have to find other ways of getting our votes. Maybe they would boast about how frugal they are in the way they represent the voters. A radical approach to government? Maybe, but it seems to me it could be long overdue.

Kevin Price is a syndicated columnist whose articles frequently appear at ChicagoSunTimes.com, Reuters.com, USAToday.com, and other national media. Kevin Price is also host of the Price of Business (M-F at 11 AM on CNN radio). Hear the show live and online at PriceofBusiness.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

One Simple Election Reform Could Stem Tide to Socialism

The United States government has, for years, put a premium on the act of voting. The idea is, the more people voting, the better. Are you getting your license renewed? Apply for a voters registration! Are you applying for Food Stamps? Go ahead and register to vote! This idea, however, goes completely against the grain of trying to maintain a responsible government. Our Founding Fathers believed in the idea of "quality of vote" versus "quantity of vote," which is the mantra we have today.

We all know that in the early days of our republic, an entire gender (females) and ethnic group (Blacks) were not allowed to vote. What most of us are not taught, however is that the vast majority of the population (regardless of race) was not allowed to vote in those early years. Voting was largely determined by states and virtually all of them had property ownership requirements that excluded, by many estimates, as much as 90 percent of the population. The discrimination practiced by the early leaders was not nearly as inclined toward race, as it was making sure that those who participate had a vested interest in the process. Those with property had to pay taxes directly, giving them (in the eyes of the early leaders) a right to participate in the process.

The classical economist John Stuart Mill argued that, if any person was receiving money from the government, they should be prohibited from voting until they were financially free from any assistance. This idea would not be merely welfare recipients, but corporate "fat cats" getting subsidies from Uncle Sam. Mill argued that there was no way to maintain a small and reasonable government if people could vote benefits for themselves. It was similar to serving on the board of an organization and being allowed to vote on something that directly benefits you. That would be bad form and everyone would expect you to "abstain." "Abstain" we all should do if we are eating at the trough.

Unfortunately, that was then, and this is now. Such a proposal would not be politically palpable. What if there was a third way beyond the "anyone with a pulse can vote" mentality pervasive today and the elitist position found earlier in our nation's history? It is against the law for candidates to campaign for office within a certain distance of voting locations. That is why, when you walk up, you are bombarded with people offering you flyers up to an invisible line. Yet, the single most important information -- party affiliation -- is actually seen on your ballots. Worse still, we allow people to vote "straight ticket," requiring absolutely no thought at all.

To restore integrity in the ballot box, we should remove party affiliation from every ballot entirely and from voting locations. This will require every person who goes in to vote to know exactly for whom they are voting and why. They should not be provided a "cheat sheet" in the form of the ballot for the most important test they take for liberty each election cycle. Those who cry "foul" will be implying their followers cannot read or lack the faculties to make such decisions. What an insult to their constituents. Without party identification, our elections will become a sober task in maintaining our liberty and not a celebration of ignorance. Will we have fewer voters? Most definitely, but we will have more thoughtful voters.

Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business, the longest running show on AM 650 (M-F at 11 am) in Houston, Texas and on AOL Radio. His articles often appear in Chicago Sun Times, Reuters, USA Today, and other national media. Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal calls Price the “best business talk show host in the country.” Find out why and visit his blog at www.BizPlusBlog.com and his show site at www.PriceofBusiness.com. You can also find Price on Strategy Room at FoxNews.com.