Spending What we can Afford

Government has been tallying up large deficits and debts for the past forty years. In an attempt to alleviate these deficits the Federal Government borrows money from foreign countries but debts on top of the already large deficits piled up. Per dollar, the most is spent on National Defense with Social Security not far behind. And defense spending increased after the September 11 attacks to pay for increased homeland security and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Such things as taxes (including increased taxes, tax cuts, and the Alternative Minimum Tax) and Earmarks have been used to try to turn the debts and deficits around. The problem with increased taxes is that the American public will complain. The problem with tax cuts is that the government must get the money to pay off the debt from another source, one they may not have. The problem with Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) is that the initial reason it was implemented (to ensure that wealthy Americans pay their fair share of taxes) is now extinct. Between inflation and revised deductions the AMT now targets middle-class Americans more than the wealthy. Earmarks have also become a problem lately with Congressmen annonymously slipping a provision into a bill at the last second, costing the American people an annual sixty four billion. Another attempt to clean up the national debt has resulted in a great debate: a "paygo" budgeting measure that was passed in 2007. Some see this as a positive entity, insisting that this system helps keep the spending in line, and eliminates the collection of unpaid taxes. Others say that unnecessary spending will not stop, rather "paygo" will bring about tax hikes to pay for these new programs.

In my opinion the paygo system, if implemented correctly, would be a solid way to decrease superfluous spending and would at least stop the deficit from growing futher if not turn it around. By making sure that an increase of spending in one area would decrease spending in another, the overall budget would not fluctuate much. And emergency money, while it would have to be taken from other areas, would at least be available. Paygo was used from 1991 to 2002, when the legistlation lapsed and was not reenacted. Partly due to the paygo system, the federal budget was balanced and in 1998 a surplus was visible for the first time in years. The Brookings Institution details the specifics of paygo.

See Also: Issue #1

Issue #3

One Dead in Germany School Shooting

A 23 year old male is the suspected shooter of a Southern German vocational school. One German died and the school went into lockdown mode. The shooter is currently in custody.



I think that schools--especially urban schools--need to vamp up their security. They can't expect the same level of security that has worked in the past for them or that currently works for rural schools to adequately fulfill the safety requirements. Schools should spend a portion of their alloted funds to cover some security costs. If more money is spent on security the results would be better in the long run.

Revised psychiatry manual targets autism, substance disorders

Recently the American Psychiatric Association has revised the guidlines--known as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders--that define what qualifies as Autism. They have included Asperger's syndrome in the autism spectrum. Asperger's symdrome is shown to be on the milder side of the autism spectrum. The new criteria mandates that the symptonms begin in early childhood and that deficits be measured in two areas: social interaction/communication and repetitive behaviors/fixated interests. The guidelines have also been revised for psychosis risk syndrome which sometimes preceeds schizophrenia. Scientists have combined "substance abuse" and "substance dependence" to create the term "addiction and related disorders," with the subheading "substance use disorders." There will also be a division of neurocognitive disorders into "major" and "minor" and new classifications for learning disorders.

I think it was definitely time to update the classifications and definitions of some of the disorders. They were a bit outdated and no longer fit the modern world of psychiatic problems. However I feel that the addition of Asperger's syndrome to the autism spectrum only increases the already immense width of it. Now nearly any slight social issue can be labeled as "autism." I also think that people are unnecessarily ignorant about modern psychological disorders. Adults and children alike should be educated on these subjects to avoid making potentially fatal mistakes in both written and spoken conversation.

Blizzard Headed Toward Mid-Atlantic

Parts of Delaware and New Jersey are preparing for a blizzard and Washington D. C. and Maryland are expected to receive near-blizzard conditions as well. The blizzard warning, in effect from 4 p.m. Friday to 7 p.m. Saturday, will amount to 24 inches of snow. Travel conditions are expected to be hazardous; as a result Southwest Airlines has canceled most flights to Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Washington and more cancelations are anticipated. Amtrak has also canceled most services for Friday.

People are panicking unecessarily in my opinion. Snow in that little amount is not dangerous. It makes sense to me that flights and trains are being halted but all of traffic does not need to stop. People can still go about their daily business, just in a more careful and cautious way. Minnesotans haven't panicked about a little snow and neither should East-coasters.