Let’s put things in perspective and take a look at a hypothetical situation that mimics the American people’s relationship with our managers in Washington. We’ll keep the ratios the same and divide the above numbers by one billion.

What would happen if you hired me to manage your non-profit company? You hire me to collect monetary donations from the good people across the state and purchase food for those truly in need. Everything goes fine for many years. On average, we collect around $2.4 million each year and with that we buy $2.4 million in food to feed the hungry. At some point I start believing the company is mine and the donations I’m depositing in the bank account from all the good Samaritans belongs to me to dispose of in any way I choose. I decide I want a higher salary, a new car, a new home, a vacation home – all of which isn’t in the $2.4 million annual budget.

The volunteers that have been helping me see my lifestyle and want to get paid too. I start paying all of the volunteers; again, not in the budget. Prices for the food slowly go up, but I still order the same amount for each family; again, not in the budget. By now I realize that I’ve totally blown the budget, so I don’t worry about keeping track of anything anymore. I’ll deal with it later. Other families see their neighbors getting help and now they want help too. I can’t say no.

When I go to pay the invoices at the end of the year, I notice that I’m out of money, and I need another $1.4 million to cover all the added expenses. Hoping that I can find more good Samaritans to donate, or assuming those currently donating will give more, at some point in the future, I go to the bank and borrow some money. I borrow $1.4 million to put back in the account to cover my reckless spending for the year. This recklessness goes on year after year until now I owe the bank $22 million!

You finally sit down and look at the books and notice that it’s going to take 30-40 years to pay back the debt that I ran up. Your reaction would be to say, “What the hell were you thinking? You idiot, you’ve ruined my company. You’re fired!” Does this hypothetical story hit home yet?