Taft's poll numbers are not so good - Not a huge surprise. "Forty-eight percent of those responding to the latest Ohio Poll disapprove of the way Governor Bob Taft is doing his job. Poll officials say that is the highest disapproval rating for the Governor since they began taking the poll 20-years ago. The respndents were generally unhappy with the way the Governor has handled the budget deficit." And how should the Governor handle the deficit? The average household has a credit card debt around $7,000, which to me, is mind boggling. Should we listen to these people who cannot manage their own finances?
If the average is around 7K, that means there are people who have a credit card debt around 14K, since there are some, like me, who have no credit card debt. It's not because I have money, it's because I didn't spend money I didn't have. It seems like a simple concept to me.
The Governor doesn't have the money, so he has to cutback. I realize this is a new concept for the credit card crowd. People with huge credit card debts solve the problem of low finances by filling out a new credit card application. And when that piece of plastic is maxed out, they get another one, and so on.
Now criticizing the handling of the money when it was supposedly "rolling in" during the supposed "boom times" of the 90's, that's a different story, and I'll go along with the criticism. When money is everywhere, the government, just like people, spends too much, thinking that the supply of green will not dry up. Very few people think long-term and save money for the down times.
There are only five states that are not in a budget crisis. So this isn't unique to Ohio. I believe New Mexico is one of those states that does not have to cut spending and does not have to raise taxes. Their governor rejected a lot of pork-filled bills during the 90's. Their governor didn't spend wildly.
I don't think Americans have a good grasp of what the terms spending, debt, and saving mean. So when people criticize the government's spending and cutting-back methods, I would like to know how they manage their own finances. Everyone can do a better a job.
posted by jr to commentary at 9:25 P.M. EST
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