Facing hard reality

Over the past few weeks we have read numerous letters to the editor written by people apparently living in a fantasyland. What fantasyland, you ask? Well, the land of “if we just eliminate corporate welfare, cut defense spending and eliminate foreign aid we can keep slurping at the handout trough and balance our budget.”

So, where does reality collide with fantasy? In the land of reality our annual deficit totals $1.65 trillion. In the real world cutting defense spending by 50 percent would raise $332 billion, eliminating foreign aid $58 billion, and doubling corporate taxes would raise an addition $150 billion. So the fantasyland folks are short $1,110 billion in cuts to achieve a balanced budget.

In the real world, the money is in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, together totaling $1,438 billion in 2010 and growing exponentially each year. Insisting on fantasy fixes and denying realities will not balance the budget. Sorry, folks, balancing our budget and the survival of the nation cannot be accomplished without reforming entitlements. It is clear that a “safety net” will be provided, but the how is the question and the how cannot be the status quo.

Patty Przybylski

Mica