p>For the United States, the 800 lb. gorilla in the room has been hanging out for quite some time. For decades now, the country has continued to spend more than it earns, like a consumer maxxing out their credit cards year after year for the sole reason that creditors are willing to stomach your appetite for debt. Yet it seems even the richest country in the world can hit a credit limit, and with the country rapidly approaching that point, something had to be done. So, when a 12-member, bipartisan “super committee” was put together to come up with a workable solution once and for all, I admit I was hopeful.
.
After all, I reasoned, failure wasn’t really an option here, was it? The nation’s credit rating had already taken a hit, falling below the coveted AAA rating thanks to S&P. Trillions of dollars are at stake, and if they can’t come to an agreement now…then when will they? Ultimately, through all of this pomp and circumstance, the committee came to one conclusion.
Do nothing.
Failure to make the cuts everyone knows must be done led to dangerous inaction, and we see a reflection of that in our own lives. Spending is easy, it permeates through every part of our lives. When we’re food shopping, Christmas shopping, window shopping, watching TV, using the computer. Everywhere we look we are bombarded with “BUY ME,” and our fingers are always one click or swipe away from the trigger. Conversely, saving is hard. The peace of mind from saving on your cable bill and putting a little extra away each month seems like chump change by comparison to your expenses. So you say to yourself, why not just forget about it. Keep on keeping on…right up until we’re drowning in debt and there’s no way out. The “Super” committee is making this exact same mistake. It is probably a good idea to learn from them.