My name is Tom Dober. I am sixty-one years old and the manager of a drycleaners, so what do I know? I have been married twenty-nine years to an educator, and have three children in their mid-twenties.
For nearly fifty years, I have observed many election cycles where politicians have promised smaller government and reduced spending. So far it has never happened. Instead, government has grown exponentially and so has the debt.
When I was growing up in the 50′s, most middle income families had one wage earner and the other parent stayed home with the kids. The economy was doing well, and all boats were rising. You knew your neighbors and people respected each others’ property. Disagreements did not turn into law suits, and you could leave your house without locking the door.
My state’s government was successfully operated on a 4% sales tax. Families took care of families, neighbors helped neighbors, and churches assisted church members. Medicare and Medicaid weren’t invented yet.
My home city was beautiful, clean, and provided excellent police, fire, water, sewer, garbage and street maintenance services. Plus we had excellent parks, municipal golf courses, and a zoo. That was it.
I graduated from the state’s largest university in the 60′s with a degree in business. My tuition was $500/semester and so was my room and board. My middle income parents were able to pay it without a college savings plan or loans. A portion of my freshman class was weeded out with the Western Civilization course. My chemistry class was in an auditorium of 250 students. No university staff or expense was used to salvage unprepared students.
What has changed from the “good ole days”? Federal, state, and local governments have grown enormously with good intentions of helping people. This is laudable, but people didn’t realize that paying for government ultimately gets passed through in the price of the goods and services we purchase. Government services are not free as many have come to feel. If the cost of bread is $3, and you reduce the size of government and its pass-through costs, maybe the price of bread would only be $2. That dollar savings may enable the person you are trying to help avoid a utility shut-off notice, negating the need for the help. It seems simplistic, but think about it.
I am now angry enough about what I have observed over the years to get up off the couch an present some solutions. So here I am. The name of my blog is Common Cents USA. Common, represents we are all in this together. Cents represents common sense solutions that are frugal like pennies, not trillions of dollars.
