I was scanning through the Internet this morning during my normal routine and I came across an article on Real Clear Politics which had a title that really grabbed my attention. ‘Time to Close the Open Bar in Washington‘ via unionleader.com was the article, and the author is Tim Pawlenty, the governor of Minnesota. Now, there have been all kinds of analogies used to describe how Washington acts with our tax dollars. The average analogy is “binge spending”. When you look at insanely large bills such as the disastrous Health Care bill, Stimulus, Financial Reform, and then add in the fact that Congress did not even pass a budget this year, and you get the idea that nobody up in Washington really gives a crap about fiscal sanity.

“For example, most of us have attended weddings, some with open bars, and some with cash bars. Behavior predictably is different depending on whether people are drinking for “free” or not. Guests presented with options at a cash bar typically will pause and think about what they would like to consume, how much they would like to consume, and how much it will cost. The money they spend is their own, and they tend, for the most part, to make reasonable and rational choices.”

Well said. Bare in mind that this is not just a Democrat or Republican issue because we’ve been told by Republicans that they are all for small government, but yet still go on spending binges on their own. However, Democrats have controlled the power of the purse since 2006, and we’ve seen nearly a 30% increase in government spending to GDP since then. US Government Spending.com compiled labor and spending statistics from 1910 to present day. In 1930, just before ‘The Great Society’, government spending as a percentage of GDP was hovering right above 10%. In 2010, government spending as a percentage of GDP is now a staggering 45%. That means that nearly half of everything the US produces, the government must confiscate in order to fuel its own spending pleasures. Knowing that the money they spend is not their own, Washington has made zero attempt to make reasonable or rational decisions when it comes to spending.

“Now consider an open bar. Guests tend to consume almost endlessly (we’ve all seen it), with no regard for cost, much less the volume of consumption. People at an open bar are more likely to embarrass themselves, not to mention bankrupt the father of the bride.”

And in this case, what do we hear from the people who want to spend the most? “Just tax the rich more!” How will we be able to afford the stimulus? “Tax the rich!” How will we be able to afford Obamacare? “Tax the rich!” How will we be able to afford cap-and-trade? “Tax the rich!” How can we afford to keep paying people not to work? “Tax the rich!” How will we be able to have a world where everyone just loves everyone? “Tax the rich even more!”

Just like a drunk at a wedding, Washington continues to order shots even after being told by the hosts they need to quit drinking. One can easily see this last election as the beginning of the taxpayers cutting Washington off from the open bar of tax dollars. Obama continues to be in denial, and believes that this election only went the way it did because he did not do a good enough job selling his agenda. Sorry “dude”, but there’s not a salesman in the world that could convince someone to take large amounts of money from your wallet and throw it out the window so someone else who might need it can pick it up. Most people have this crazy idea that they should be able to keep what they earn. You believe that it is up to government to determine what is done with people’s earnings. You are the drunk at the wedding who is now on his way to being shown the door. I hope you enjoyed the party.

Read the whole RCP article here: http://unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Tim+Pawlenty:+Time+to+...