I begin with a statement of opinion that is bleak. I believe that the financial situation in our country is the worst in our history in terms of long-term concerns.
Yes, the Great Depression was worse in the short term. Fortunately, a war “got us out of the Depression.” During the war we created massive debt. Ending the war allowed us through military demobilization to quickly (a few short years) return to financial surpluses in federal accounts. Unfortunately there is no quick fix today for our huge national debt and continuing deficit spending.
I do not believe this is a political party issue. It is an American people issue. We the people increasingly turn to government in all forms to solve problems. As a government should in a democracy, it tries mightily to create solutions, be they in foreign matters to prevent another 9/11 or meet legitimate needs such as health care. I do not belittle any of the “needs” demanded by Americans. I would love to see all of the problems solved either by private enterprise or government, I really don’t care which.
But the simple fact is the country as a whole, privately or through government, cannot meet all the demands articulated.
I believe the “production” in this country is far behind our ability to meet expressed needs or wants. Another way of saying it is: demand is far outpacing supply in a truly macroscopic sense. And it is going to get worse. Again fundamentally, our “supply” is critically dependent on our intellectual capacity as a country. Then look at the state of education at all levels. Our ability to dramatically increase “supply” or production is going down, not up, with untold long term consequences.
My bottom line is we the people are asking far too much of our various governments. We have to stop “asking” no matter how legitimate the “needs.” Government must in turn start to say “NO, we cannot do that.”
Anson Burlingame
Joplin
Opinion
Voices: Fiscal reality
- Opinion
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Our View: Victims should come first
Millions of dollars in donations have poured in from around the world since the May 22, 2011, tornado. Those donations represent money from lemonade stands, charity auctions, corporate gifts and celebrity checks, just to name a few. In fact, one year later donations continue to come to Joplin.
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Beth Meeker, guest columnist: Same-sex marriage battle a quest for equal rights
I would like to take a moment to reply to guest columnist Anson Burlingame’s, “The Marriage Debate” (Globe, May 13).
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Sunday Forum: 2012 graduation speakers key on tornado, mall school and president’s visit
Editor’s note: In addition to speeches by President Barack Obama and Gov. Jay Nixon, Joplin High School’s top students addressed graduates, faculty, parents and other guests packed into the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center on the Missouri Southern State University campus. Following are the text of those speeches.
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Geoff Caldwell, guest columnist: Pack mentality takes truth as a casualty
President Obama’s Joplin graduation speech Monday showed that while there’s the political “right,” there’s also a very active “rabid” political right.
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Your View: ‘Study’ can mean anything
A few evenings ago, I watched a television program on the science of marriage.
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Our View: Support for museum
How can you tell the story of Joplin without the accounts of its mining history?
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Our View: Finding middle ground
The G-8 summit held last week in Camp David ended as expected.
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Anson Burlingame, guest columnist: Class of 2012 upholds character, hope
My oldest granddaughter was part of the class of 2012 from Joplin High School, and I attended the ceremony on Monday night.
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Scott Charton, guest columnist: 'Deadline in Disaster' film a story about storytellers
Local newspapers are at their best when they help their communities confront, understand, endure and overcome shared challenges.
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Our View: Make voting easiser
This year’s ballot will not include a proposed constitutional amendment that photo identification be required at the polls in Missouri. Good.
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Our View: Victims should come first
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