Two Dilemmas

Bursting Bubble

It’s been nearly two months since I wrote a post.

Initially, I was frustrated by the happenings in the country.  I wasn’t thinking clearly enough to write something sound.  I was angry enough that I was afraid I might lose coherence.  So much negative commentary abounds, and I don’t wish to contribute to that simply for the sake of writing.

Then it became easy to put it off as I chased my kids to baseball games and work demands spiked.  Its tempting, at times, to withdraw completely from the fight for the future of the country.  Its hard to maintain intensity in the face of a big loss, and to some extent I just needed to be patient.

But, in the end, there’s too much at stake.

Looking back now on the passage of the health care bill, I find I’m facing two dilemmas.

The first is whether or not I can morally continue to pay taxes to my government.

The Catholic Bishops, in this fact sheet and this memo, clarify the language in the health care bill that enables public funding of abortions.  If the federal government is intent on using my tax dollars for this purpose, then I do not see how I can continue to financially support it.  I don’t yet know what to do.  But, in the long run, I will have to find a solution.

The second dilemma is, will our economy survive this legislation?

We were already running unsustainable deficits.  While Washington politicians would like me to believe that the legislation will result in a decrease in debt, I wasn’t born yesterday.  No government program has ever lived up to its billing where savings are concerned, nor has any government program even managed to stay within its original cost projections.  History says the cost of this legislation will balloon out of control, so I find it ridiculous to take the politicians at their word and assume we will actually save money as a result.

I find myself thinking, “What can I change now that would help my family persevere if the economy is headed toward a prolonged downturn?”

I am seriously considering how to downsize my lifestyle in preparation for hard times to come.  What can we do to get by with less and remain content?

I am nowhere close to resolving this either, but the way I am thinking right now, it might take a whole new blog to document that process.  I live on 24 acres in prime Indiana farming country (not far from the Amish), and I may soon be inviting you to follow the progress of our attempt to create a self sustaining farmstead.

The bottom line is I face these two major dilemmas as a result of actions taken by my government.

They would like me to me more confident about the future.  They want me to go back to the ways of old so the economy will grow and the charade of fiscal wellness can resume.

In reality, they have elicited the exact opposite reaction from me.

My doubts have intensified, and as a result I am contemplating ways to pullback my economic activity to prepare for the hardships that seem inevitable at this stage.

Seems likely to me that there are more bubbles yet to burst.