OPINION

 – By G. Miller Thompson –

The United States of America has made a name for itself to the world as a resilient people.  The Union we are so blessed to call home has faced horrific war and tremendous success.  As the Land of Opportunity, the United States has received millions of immigrants who chose America over everywhere else in the world because of the potential our country offers.  America achieved its goal of being a “shining city on a hill” and guaranteed her citizens the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  But now, we find ourselves at a crossroads.

The state of our Union is uncertain.

We live in a day in which our national debt has exceeded $17 trillion and is showing few signs of slowing down.  In fact, by 2016, many predict that number will surpass $20 trillion.  Such debt is unsustainable.  As a nation we must join together and collectively decide that fiscal ignorance will not stand.  The future of our Union depends on it.

Step one in decreasing our debt is bringing an end to deficit spending.  Currently, our nation runs deficits of approximately $1 trillion each year.  This means that the government of the United States spends one trillion more dollars than it brings in each year.  We must stop spending more than we can afford.  We must bring an end to our spending addiction.

Step two in decreasing our debt is implementing a new jobs plan.  Raising taxes will not solve our problems; Americans already lose enough money to our government in its botched form of legalized theft.  When I speak of jobs, I am not referring to government jobs.  There are more than enough of those as it is.  We are in desperate need of more jobs in the private sector.  This means we get government out of the way and let Americans do what they do best:  be innovative.  President Reagan had the right idea, “government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem.”

The stringent restraints that government often places on private businesses must be lifted.  This government interference hinders businesses from performing at full capacity.  As we become a nation in which private-sector jobs are plentiful, we will see drastic change.

The national debt and jobs crisis are the two most pressing issues facing our country.  Following closely behind those is education.  Public education is the most valuable service offered by the government.  In its current form, however, we are failing miserably.  Our school systems need to prepare our students for the lives they will lead; this “one-size fits all” policy helps no one.  We must focus on offering skill sets in career centers and other on-campus venues to prepare those students who will choose not to attend college.  Their lives are valuable and their contribution to society is needed.  Upon graduating high school, one should be prepared to pursue higher education or immediately enter a workforce for which he or she has been adequately trained.

On this day, we find ourselves in a critical position.  The decisions we make now will directly affect the generations to come.  It is our moral imperative to make good choices.  Despite the current state of our Union, there is hope on the horizon.  The United States of America is a resilient nation.  When we join hands for the common purpose of bettering our country, we form a bond that cannot be broken by even the most powerful evil.  We are one people, one nation.  We are America.

May God bless you, and may God continue to bless the United States of America.

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The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Edgefield Advertiser.

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