Published: January 06, 2008 12:44 am            

Overseas investments

American investments have gone to the dogs. Our government is sending endless amounts of aid to foreign countries, is spending billions of dollars on the Iraq War, and is trying to cure the fatal disease of illegal immigration with more and more money. Not only is the government spending our tax dollars on residents of other countries, but is also spending money on illegal aliens who don't have the right to live in this country. Billions of dollars that the United States is not getting back should be spent on its on citizens that struggle to put food on the table.

American tax dollars should be used first and foremost on our people before being distributed to other countries in need or other lost causes. In the U.S., there are children going to bed hungry, cold, or sick in households that are trying to make ends meet. Single parent families are on the rise, causing the children to go either without supervision or food. Food stamps and welfare help, but they don't pay the bills by themselves or put clothes on children's backs. Children are then forced to go to work early without an education and the viscous cycle continues.

The Iraq War is not entirely a lost cause, but the tab is leaving a very visible dent in the annual budget for 2008. With 555 billion dollars, countless of children could have food, shelter, and clothes and the homeless could get out of the cold. Many of the elderly could afford to pay their heating bill or for their costly prescriptions. Also, single moms could afford to put their children in daycare instead of leaving them unsupervised and more susceptible to criminal behavior. Not only does our government fail to create a balanced budget, but it fails even greater when those deficit dollars are sent overseas and not home.



Leigha Barnard

Meridian

        

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