The Obama campaign ran an ad last fall during the presidential election which attempted to portray John McCain as a “big spender”. Many listened as a narrator told them, “McCain's tax plan means another three trillion in debt. His plan to privatize Social Security -- another trillion. Tax credits sent to insurance companies, yet another trillion. So as we borrow from China to fund his spending spree, ask yourself: Can we afford John McCain?”

Isn't it sad that there does not seem to be so much as a hint of embarrassment in the democrat camp that they were able to win the White House by attack ads like the one above that actually described what their own candidate was going to do. In fact, the prospect of being able to “afford John McCain” must look pretty tempting right now. The democrats will take us to three trillion dollars in deficit spending before the end of President Obama’s second year in office. The national debt, now standing at a mere 11.68 trillion dollars, will have pushed its way past 13 trillion by that time. In case you’re wondering, that’s “only” about forty thousand dollars for every person in America, or more like eighty thousand dollars for every taxpayer. At least we have gotten an answer concerning our ability to “borrow from China to fund his spending spree”. So far, so good!

The question of “How much longer can this go on?” seems to be becoming a matter of national concern. Just weeks ago, Washington decided the “Cash for Clunkers” program was such a success (at selling Japanese-made cars, as it turns out), that another 2 billion dollars was needed. So, it was off to the “bank” again for the feds, borrowing yet more money to fund a program which is arguably unwise and unnecessary. That there seems to be no end to it is largely due to the fact that there is, in fact, no end to it! But that’s the catch.

There will someday be an end to this borrowing, and we need to address this. What is going to happen when we, as a nation, must live within our means? The campaign ad was critical of McCain’s ideas on Social Security, but where are the answers from the White House now? With the Social Security Trust Fund filled only with federal IOUs, what will be used to pay retirees what they do, by all rights, have coming to them? How will the military be funded if spending must be cut by a third or more? It would seem reasonable to see times coming when a well-known preacher’s observations about chickens coming home to roost will apply in a way he did not anticipate. And when that happens, what will we do?