Where were our fiscally-conservative Republicans when President Bush and the U.S. Congress took a budget surplus and turned it into a $1 trillion budget deficit, and doubled our national debt from $5 trillion to $10 trillion?

The Republican concern for fiscal responsibility in the recent budget debate rings hollow.  I think it’s clear that NONE of our elected officials on either side of the aisle have any clue what it means to balance budgets and be financially responsible.

Check out this political cartoon

In today’s article we include a picture of mirror, because the stupid person here is us — you and me and all the American citizens.

In December our government passed a $700 billion package to use taxpayer funds to bail out the banking industry.  So far over $350 billion has been spent with pretty much nothing to show for it.  The credit markets remain frozen, the stock market had its worst January in history, and new jobless claims reached an all-time high.

But while we lose our jobs, say goodbye to our retirement funds, and struggle to make ends meet, the top officers in the banks that received our bailout money continued to haul in obscene salaries and bonuses.  That’s right, the people who helped collapse our economy because of their greed and irresponsibility were rewarded with riches beyond belief for their poor performance.

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According to new Congressional Budget Office figures, the U.S. federal budget deficit will hit an unprecedented $1.2 trillion for the 2009 budget year.  The CBO also projects a $703 billion deficit for 2010.  The dismal figures come a day after President-elect Barack Obama warned of “trillion-dollar deficits for years to come.”

To make matters worse, the CBO figures don’t account for the massive economic stimulus bill that Obama is proposing, nor does it include the cost of the trillion-dollar Wall Street bailout.

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Banks that are receiving taxpayer bailouts gave their top executives nearly $1.6 billion in salaries, bonuses, and other benefits last year, according to an Associated Press analysis.  Benefits included cash bonuses, stock options, company jets, limousines, country club memberships and more.  The 116 banks have so far received $188 billion of our taxpayer money.

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The one thing we can always count on Congress accomplishing is to enrich themselves at our country’s expense.  We see it with still-legal special interest donations, illegal favors such as house renovations for convicted Alaska Senator Ted Stevens, and of course the yearly Congressional pay raise.

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America is not happy with its political leaders.  The most recent CBS/New York Times poll shows that Congress has only a 15% approval rating, arguably the lowest approval rating in history.  The economy is collapsing, our country is plunging deeper into debt, energy and food prices are climbing, the Cold War is reheating, and we are fighting two long expensive wars.  Americans are worried, upset and angry.

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