Q&A: Obama

from Sandi:

I would love to know your opinion on President Obama and his plans for the future of America.

Oh man, now I have to address politics on my blog? =)

I usually shy away from that, not because I don't have opinions (I do, lots of them!), but because I have too many and I don't want controversy.

But since you asked, I'll give you a few thoughts.

I'm of the opinion that things that don't work for a household will not work for a country. So, let's say a family is deeply in debt and has lost the value of many of its investments. The best thing to do? Tighten the belt, restrain from unnecessary spending, cut back on outside activities, be creative and maybe take some drastic measures (downsizing a home, taking an extra job) to stay afloat financially.

If a country -- or state (hello, California!) -- is deeply in debt and losing the value of its investments, then it is also time for some real discipline and restraint. It is not the time to be expanding government programs or increasing the national debt. It's a time to take a good hard look at what programs could be cut and realize that we simply can't afford some things. It bothers me greatly that my children will be paying for things the government is purchasing and promising today. It also bothers me that most of our national debt is owed to China, since they are the ones who are buying our treasury bills.

And I know it's not just Democrats who are at fault. No one likes to be the voice of caution, the penny-pincher limiting each person to five pieces of candy at the government pinata. It's too easy to see how people are hurting and think, "We ought to do something about this." But the truth is, government cannot and should not be the solution to every problem in the world. Too often, government solutions are clunky, wasteful, bureaucratic messes.

On the bright side, I do think Obama has two very cute kids!