I am very concerned about the current economic crisis and political paralysis that is affecting our country. The majority of the voters spoke and now we must live with the outcome. We will have another four years with a socialist president at the helm of our nation. In the first term of the Obama administration, our international reputation was destroyed! We promised to support our allies, and then we abandoned them. Our president quietly supports the Palestinians in their efforts to bring down the State of Israel. He also supports the Arab Spring and the resurgence of Islamic radicals in North Africa and the Middle East.

Our nation is less than a month away from the worst financial crisis in over 75 years. Instead of sitting down with members of Congress to find a solution, our Commander-in-Chief is campaigning as if he is facing reelection next month. To President Obama I say: "The election is over. You won! It is time to stop campaigning and start governing our nation". Obama is gallivanting around the country this week. Instead of politicking, he should be locking himself in the White House along with congressional leaders until there is a new budget that resolves our financial problems. It is been three and a half years since we had a budget. We need a government that is fiscally responsible; a government that does not spend more than it collects in revenues. A sound budget is the first step in putting America back on the road to prosperity.Unfettered government spending is hastening the demise of our nation. Our national debt is $16.2 trillion. It is unlikely that it will ever be repaid. Our elected official and civil servants continue to spend "The People's Money" like teenagers with their first credit card. They are racking up debt "faster than a speeding bullet", creating a financial avalanche more powerful than being hit by a locomotive, with the ability to swamp our economy in a single bound. (Congress is like Superman on a spending spree).Congress is using the fiscal cliff that they invented to force themselves into creating a budget. If they can't create a budget by the first day of the New Year then draconian budget cuts are automatically initiated. Only a ship full of fools would voluntarily create such a destructive mechanism. Obviously our Congress cannot work together in an intelligent manner even though our nation is facing a horrendous financial disaster. A failure to act on the budget could result in over one million more people losing their jobs. State unemployment insurance funds will be overwhelmed by the rising unemployment. This will force our nation into a financial Armageddon. Rather than gallivanting around the nation, our president and Congress should be working each and every day until midnight if necessary to expand our economy and create the jobs that are citizens so desperately want and need.Foolishly raising taxes on January 1st will only result in a deepening recession. Our government and politicians look at the unemployment numbers generated each month to measure our dismal economy. What they forget is that there is a family affected by each person who is out of work. Our government has knowingly cooked the books with regards to the number of unemployed people in this country. Officially, the number is about 12 million. But when you count people who have been unemployed more than the year or who have given up looking for work the number exceeds 25 million. When we add in family members that the unemployed support, many more millions of Americans are directly or indirectly affected and suffering hardship. This country was the land of milk and honey. Now it is the land of food stamps and government handouts. This is an intolerable situation. Our citizens should be pounding on the doors of our politicians to let them know that we need actions to create jobs not empty rhetoric. They spent the election season pontificating on how they would make America strong again now it is time for them to stand and deliver the prosperity they promised.The first step towards balancing the budget is to downsize the government. We must cut the number of federal employees by at least 20 percent. In addition we must stop funding foreign regimes and dictators. As an example we can stop funding for Egypt and Israel. No matter how much money we give them they will always be in a state of animosity that occasionally develops into a full-scale war. We should eliminate most foreign aid as this money could be better used to assist needy people in this country. We must also remove impediments preventing corporate expansion here in the United States. By creating a business friendly environment we can encourage economic growth and over time return to full employment.As for politicians, we should make them accountable. If the CEO of a large company squandered billions of dollars, in all likelihood they would be charged with fraud and end up in jail. If I had my way, we would impeach or imprison politicians who make unrealistic or fraudulent promises they can't keep. Politicians should be held accountable to the electorate. It is also time to downsize Congress just as we downsized businesses. Why do we have 435 members in the House of Representatives? Because it has always been that way!With E-mail, Internet, town hall meetings and other improvements in mass communications we could easily cut the number of members by two hundred or even three hundred. The fewer politicians we have, the fewer stupid laws we will have. I'm sure many will think that downsizing the House of Representatives is unconstitutional. Well, change the Constitution! The 435 members we now have in Congress can't even balance a checkbook. With fewer members, there will be less political bribes and pork barreling and hopefully better government.As I looked towards the New Year, I feel the presence of impending doom. Our economy is in a shambles. The world is a power keg with crazy radicals overthrowing stable governments. The Arab Spring will likely lead to a dismal winter. It is time to prepare for the worst and pray for the best. Stock up your pantry and put gold coins under your mattress. Buckle up! We are in for a rough ride.© 2012 Gordon Smith - All Rights Reserved