March 2006 is officially the U.S. government's highest spending month of all time. The Treasury Department revealed last week that the federal government spent $250 billion in March, which surpasses the previous record set only a month before. Two consecutive months of record spending only add to an already staggering budget deficit that should concern any American. Worse, this reckless spending is taking place under an administration and Congress that calls themselves conservative.
Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan drag on with no end in sight. As the U.S. military simultaneously fights insurgents and makes reconstruction efforts, the cost has come not only in the form of American lives but in abundant taxpayers' dollars as well. Ongoing efforts to democratize these nations as the wars continue are further draining U.S. resources. These quagmires remain the principal contributors to a frightening budget deficit that increased by $85.5 billion during last month alone. Unfortunately, this drunken manner of spending shows no signs of stopping.
In addressing Washington's budget failures, the war is the most obvious cost. However, it would be inaccurate to cast it as the sole source of the nation's unprecedented financial woes. Although some of the full effects of reckless spending have been mitigated by a somewhat rebounding economy, various unresolved domestic issues continue to waste taxpayers' money.
Promises to reform government social programs have been followed by inaction with the costs of Social Security and Medicare spiraling out of control and threatening to burden future generations. Health care and education have been debated with fancy rhetoric but filled with empty promises. The federal government's complete lack of direction is slowly bankrupting the country. On top of all this, the government remains indebted to numerous foreign powers and private lenders, continually placing such debts on the back burner and allowing them to accrue exorbitantly.
The Bush administration and Congress have contented themselves with spending America's money as it pleases and leaving its successor to try to pick up the pieces. With record imprudence like last month's expenditures, such a turnaround seems less likely. America's leaders must become more accountable today if there is to be a tomorrow worth salvaging.
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Report confirms U.S. spending woes
