Simple financial responsibility

Financial responsibility is something I began learning at a young age.

I was 5 or 6 years old and standing in the checkout line at the grocery store with one of my parents.

A Reese’s would always catch my eye.

I would pick up a package, turn to one of my parents and do my patented, “Pleeeease.”

My parents would almost always respond with, “Do you have the money?”

My answer would inevitably be, “No,” and I would have to go on without my Reese’s.
Being a candy addict, I went through this exchange thousands of times between the ages of 5 and 10, and it was the foundation for my understanding of money.

If you can’t afford it, you can’t have it.

It seems the United States federal government doesn’t understand this concept or exists in a parallel universe where Reese’s rain down from the heavens.

The U.S. is more than $16 trillion in debt, and truly effective measures have not been put in place to slow down the rising national debt.

It isn’t realistic to expect the national government to operate on a cash-only basis, but the country’s borrowing habits have gotten way out of hand.

Our country’s borrowing habits are becoming eerily similar to those of thousands of American families throughout the past decade. 

We have overextended our credit.

We are spending more than we are bringing in. This trend doesn’t look like it will stop anytime soon.

One of the other entities that appears to be concerned as I am is Moody’s. 

Moody’s is one of the main credit rating firms in the world.

The U.S. credit rating was already downgraded by Standard & Poor’s, but Moody’s might soon follow suit.

Yesterday, Moody’s said the U.S. could lose its AAA credit rating if Congress does not create a long-term debt reduction plan.

When your credit rating has been downgraded by one of the top three credit rating institutions in the world, and another is close to following suit, it should be more than apparent your financial practices have gotten reckless.

If Moody’s did downgrade the country’s credit rating, it would affect the country minimally. 

The U.S. gets most of its credit from bonds rather than borrowing from other countries.
This doesn’t mean we should ignore the potential action of Moody’s.

We need to be concerned with our country’s financial practices.

At some point, our government is going to have to accept the fact that they don’t have the money for the things they want to do, just like me in the checkout line.

After all, when you default on your mortgage you lose your house.

Do we really want to see what happens if our government defaults on theirs?

­— wfgryna@indiana.edu