Borsinger Family Web Log

It is upsetting that the present rhetoric regarding increasing taxes is overshadowing our bigger issue regarding where we are as an economy. Most of the politicians that are negotiating the present tax increase and austerity deal will be retired, writing their memoirs and being paid to give speeches when the true cost of our government’s lack of fiscal responsibility comes to light. Many economists expect the debt of our nation to overwhelm our economy in 5 to 10 years and result in an economy that will look much like what Greece is today.  There is no easy solution. Our education system needs to do a better job of making sure students and parents know about economics and financial responsibilities. Term limits would help those elected to focus on what is right versus what will get them reelected. Tort and insurance reform would help remove unproductive waste from our economy. Finally a balanced budget amendment would prevent our government from continued fiscal irresponsibility. None of this will happen unless the strong divisive and politically driven atmosphere is eliminated and we as a nation unite and do what is right to prevent our children from having to bear the burden of the mistakes we have made.

he editorial ‘Double Standards on Susan Rice’ fails to consider important facts that make the analogy with Condoleezza Rice inaccurate. The information on Iraq presented by Condoleezza Rice was based on intelligence, although incorrect, provided by established intelligent sources. It is unfortunate this information was not correct and we entered a war based on this. The information put forth by Susan Rice was also incorrect regarding the killing of US personnel in our embassy in Libya. The difference is that the information presented by Rice came from internal sources and appears to have been manipulated by someone either in the State Department, White House or otherwise. The fact that Susan Rice appears to be willing to be a spokesperson for what may be a politically motivated cause is justification for concern for her as the head of State.

Sincerely,

Looking back on this past election there was a lot of talk about ‘are you better off than you were four years ago’. I think a better question would have been ‘is our country better off than it was four years ago’.  Our culture seems to have evolved into a self serving entitlement attitude where there is little thought by individuals towards what would be better for the good of our nation. It is easy to see this contrast by talking to older individuals who lived through WWII and comparing their response to questions about serving our nation with that of those in their 20’s and 30’s. This attitude has been aggravated by the recent divisive nature of the political process that pits one class of citizen against another. I believe this individualism threatens our nation and needs to change in order to assure our greatness as a country.

Sincerely,

Back in the early part of this decade as I watched the likes of Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) put forth  legislation and pressure  Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to give loans to unqualified people, I wondered who would ultimately pay for their misguided social experiment that defied good financial judgment. It is now clear that the financial mess created by these politicians will ultimately be paid for by consumers who diligently pay their mortgages and did not overextend themselves. The $25 billion agreement by five big US banks on Thursday to bail out a few homeowners who overextended themselves will ultimately be paid for by those of us who use those banks. Yes it is tragic that people are losing their houses but let’s place the blame where it truly lies – with politicians who lack good financial judgment and who have constantly proven themselves irresponsible in managing the tax dollars we give them.

I read the articles in The Star Ledger concerning families whose fuel subsidies have been cut or who are living on food stamps and I empathize with their plight. Many of us are going through rough times right now and I personally do not mind helping out the neediest that are not capable of helping themselves. What bothers me about the reporting is that it gives the sense that cutting Government spending is a bad thing. Every article covering the plight of the poor should be followed by an article highlighting wasteful Government spending or public employees enjoying six figure pensions at taxpayers’ expense. Our Government has a spending problem. Let’s not distort this fact

The recent ruling by the New Jersey Supreme Court mandating that additional taxpayers’ dollars be thrown at failing schools will do next to nothing for those children. Talk with a teacher or go to a classroom in many of those districts and you will find that much of a teachers efforts are spent on activities such as trying to maintain discipline in the classroom, responding to school lockdowns and trying to find a way to engage parents to get homework done – none of which will be solved by the recent Court decision. This is another example of a liberal Court requiring taxpayers’ dollars be spent on a problem they have no idea on how to solve. There are ways to fix this – but is is more of a social problem than a monetary one. The Court would do more for these children if they mandated that parents be fined if their children do not complete homework!

Articles written by politicians related to school funding, such as that by Barbara Buono “The ‘new normal’ is inadequate for our schools” illustrate how our education system has become a political football. The idea that more money is the best way to improve education may be politically very attractive but highlights the fact that our legislative and judicial systems have one solution for any problem – tax and spend. There are many studies that show only a loose connection between spending and quality of education.  Why don’t politicians like Buono look to what has worked at private schools to improve education and reduce waste without increasing our tax burden? Things like school uniforms, getting rid of bad teachers/administrators and more parental involvement have all been shown to improve education at minimal cost. We should elect leaders that can adapt to the new norm of doing more with less and solving problems with creative solutions instead of the tax and spend mentality that is pervasive with most of our Legislature today.