Government debt is advancing rapidly toward $20 trillion. By any measure imaginable, that is a lot of debt. So, my question is how do the Wonderful Wizards of Washington plan to pay off this debt — or do the WWWs just plan to kick the can down the road?

The next question, what effect does having a budget make in the scheme of things? For example, if you have an ongoing business, you know it is wise to have a budget. You also know that you can’t year after year spend more than you make — unless, of course, you have a bank or someone willing to loan you money. But you cannot do this indefinitely; there will come a time when you run out of someone willing to finance your deficit spending.

For the U.S. government, it’s not a problem;  they will just print money or borrow money. Other governments —  city, county, state — cannot print money, but they can sell bonds to cover the shortfall. Nevertheless, city, county and state must be frugal in their spending while the federal government does not and is not frugal. 

Next, what sense does it make for the U.S. government to have a budget? During the Obama years, there never was a budget. Congress just adjusted the debt ceiling higher and higher to accommodate Obama’s deficit spending. The WWWs have absolutely no intentions of living under a budget. They never have, so why start now?

Most important for the WWWs is re-election. For years there has been this gentlemen’s agreement: Politicians will give special treatment to certain donors with handouts, project grants or favorable legislation. In return, the donors give back to politicians money for campaigning and re-election. 

Do the WWWs increase the debt ceiling or do they shut down the government? They have run out of tax dollars, borrowed money and printed money. What to do? Shutting down government is not acceptable. You can safely bet there will be a vote to increase the debt limit until they work out some plan for the Affordable Care Act, reducing taxes, building a wall on the Southern border and all of the rest of President Trump’s agenda.

There is this remaining problem — Trump’s agenda is not the WWWs’ agenda. This is why the WWWs have been “slow rolling” every initiative seen by Congress to be in conflict with their prime objective: re-election.

The only friends of President Trump are the people who voted for him; Democrats, Republicans and the liberal press oppose the Trump agenda. Trump should get a dog if he wants a friend in Washington. The real problem with Congress is to accomplish those agendas good for the country and the people, not re-election for the WWWs! Term limits for Congress would go a long way in fixing this problem.

Only when we have enough people in Congress that agree to pass term limits and to live within a budget — and to cease dependence upon privileged donors — will this march to bankruptcy end. There will come a time when they shall run out of willing donors, no matter the promises of the WWWs. Bankruptcy is not good in the private sector and a disaster for the people in the public sector.

Some of us still believe in a “government of the people, by the people, and for the people” that it should not perish from the earth! The Congress, the judiciary, the president all have been finding ways around the Constitution to accomplish their own selfish goals.

It seemed so new, so eloquent in 1776 — something so different from existing forms of government. If we could somehow return to those values, would we not all be in a better place? We need a Congress whose purpose is not re-election but to value country above self, to honor the people and the country with unselfish devotion to liberty, freedom and justice.

Richard Roberts lives in Kannapolis.