Washington Fiddles While Greece Burns

by Gary Bauer, Contributing Author: Government debt is literally destroying the country of Greece. The scenes coming out of that nation, which has contributed so much to Western Civilization, are very disturbing. Mobs are rioting in the streets. Communists seized the Acropolis and are urging revolution throughout Europe. A bank was firebombed and three people inside were killed. Welcome to the slippery slope of socialism.

The same brew of income redistribution, Big Government, powerful unions, class warfare, demonization of achievement, promises of entitlement and unsustainable spending is at work in Greece, much of Europe and even in America. Unions are the driving force behind the violence and unrest in Greece, shutting down schools and hospitals, just as unions here are being used to rough up Tea Party activists. The inevitable end is always the same – economic collapse and/or revolution. You’re seeing it now in Greece. Spain may well be next. American markets are in turmoil today with the DOW down nearly 1,000 points at one time, but rallying as I write.

The problem is spending. Years of socialist spending has driven Greece to the brink of an abyss. Government spending in Greece now accounts for 108% of the country’s economic output. That’s called “living beyond your means.” There just isn’t enough money available to pay for all the Left’s radical demands, and the Left seems incapable of rational debate. Just as reasonable opposition to Obama’s spending is answered with charges of racism, responsible calls for “austerity measures” in Greece have been answered with violence.

If we don’t stop the socialists here, it could happen in America too. That’s not hyperbole, friends. USA Today’s editorial board is sounding the alarm against “excessive federal borrowing” and unfunded liabilities for existing entitlement programs, not to mention ObamaCare, which hasn’t even started yet.

Meanwhile, Here At Home You may be saying, "But this is America, free market capitalism is an ingrained way of life here." That may have been true for previous generations, but we’re losing it. The current occupant of the White House is an admitted advocate of "spreading the wealth around." He won thanks in part to the overwhelming support of young adults, many of whom graduate high school and college without a basic understanding of America’s history and fundamental economics.

I think the evidence is overwhelming (from his public affiliations and his policy initiatives) that Barack Obama is not the free market advocate he claims to be. And many of his key officials have expressed radical ideas like “de-developing” the United States.

Another close associate of the president has chimed in with his thoughts on social justice. The Reverend Al Sharpton, who knows something about creating civil unrest, said that he’s working with Barack Obama to achieve Martin Luther King’s "dream" of equality. But, just to be clear, Rev. Sharpton tells us that the dream was "not to put one black family in the White House. The dream was to make everything equal in everybody’s house. President Obama being in the White House can help us get there." You can watch it here

It can't be clearer than that. Social justice equals socialism and Barack Obama’s policies "can help us get there." That's coming from Obama’s ally Al Sharpton, not me.
Gary Bauer is is a conservative family values advocate and serves as president of American Values and chairman of the Campaign for Working Families. He submitted the above in an email to the ARRA News Service Editor. Bauer was a former Republican presidential candidate and served as President Ronald Reagan’s domestic policy adviser.

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