Last Sunday 60 Minutes on CBS ran a story that every American should have seen as it had a great deal to say about the current financial crisis in Europe and how it might hurt our economy as that area is one of our most important customers.
The cause of the meltdown of its economy was explained in terms we should all recognize as it is on the way to happening here if we do not take immediate steps to avoid the errors.
For many years Europeans have been living far beyond their means and now the people of most countries are finally having to face the fact that without vast changes and painful sacrifice, the economies will fail.
We too, could face the same hard fate unless we change direction quickly to reduce our debt load and start on the path to return to fanatical responsibility. What is happening in Europe should be a lesson and warning to us to not follow the same path. There is an old saying ” That he who does not know history is bound to repeat it”; in this case , history is right before our eyes as it happening now over there.
In our country the federal government and many state governments are in a dire financial condition; our state being the worst with a number of others not far behind. The time to act is now.
Cuts will be painful but if we act quickly, many believe we can avoid the extreme measures facing many countries elsewhere.
I believe in our future as there is so much that can be done to improve our economy; we could start with a push to buy American and put our own people back to work.
We can urge our lawmakers to really get aggressive in searching out every bit of unnecessary spending and fraud and most of all, stop borrowing so much.
Darryl Smith
Kelseyville
