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With the mainstream media focused on the presidential election it is easy to forget about all of the Congressional ones, but it’s important that we don’t. Why? Well, just think about how long it’s been since Congress has passed a budget – three years …but who’s counting (aside from every hardworking, tax-paying American… so about 50% of us)?
If our non-budget isn’t enough to convince you these elections are important, Gary Latanich will. Gary Latanich is a Democrat running for office in Arkansas. Latanich’s budget ideas are so ridiculous and reckless this segment may actually make you think about moving to Arkansas so that you can vote against this guy.
What’s his strategy to tackling our national debt is simple:
“You never, I repeat never attempt to pay off the national debt.”
Why? You ask.
“When you pay off the national debt, what you’re basically doing is you’re taking money that would have been used to buy goods and services and you’re paying down debt. Those are dollars that would have bought products that are now not buying products. So imagine what happens – those products aren’t bought, inventories accumulate, people get laid off.”
A comment this ridiculous left Glenn with only one thing left to say, “Think about it.”
“We always joke at the studio, whenever you don’t have a way to make your argument, all you do is say something crazy, and then you just follow that up with “think about it.” That’s the only thing that you could say with this is, think about it,” Glenn joked.
Gary Latanich wasn’t done yet, though, the audio of the interview continued.
“What about a family budget?” the reporter asked Latanich. “Is it just a crazy argument to sort of compare my family and my family budget with the government budget?”
“Absolutely crazy,” Latanich answered. “There’s no connection with the issue. I mean, if you go home at 2:00, no rush hour. Do we all go home at 2:00? No.”
“What?” Pat asked confused.
“Think about it,” Glenn joked. “No seriously, think about it.”
The nonsense continued:
“If you save all of your money over an entire year, you’ll be rich. If a nation saves their money for a year, we are all bankrupt because there’s no sale, there are no jobs,” Latanich continued.
Glenn jumped in, referring to an article he saw similar to this argument about how the rich don’t create jobs that only consumers do.
“Well, yes, I guess in the short run, if we're all going out and buying televisions, yes, we create jobs, because somebody has to make those televisions,” Glenn explained. “So yes, in the short run, but if you are buying the televisions on debt, eventually the only jobs that are created are collection agency jobs, people who come to your house and repossess it. Those aren't jobs we should be creating.”
Stu pointed out that this philosophy is the whole idea behind the stimulus. “Go out and buy as many televisions as you can right now on your credit card, and then we’re going to create jobs.”
“It was the lie that we bought into with George W. Bush,” Glenn said, “Go shopping.”
Glenn explained that if that had been the suggestion for us back during the Great Depression our grandparents would have never accepted it. “Don't go shopping. That's the dumbest idea I've ever heard. First of all, what jobs are we creating? You're going shopping. What are you going to buy, clothes? Tell me the clothes that are made here in America. Are you going to go buy toys? Tell me the toys that are made here in America. Whose jobs are you creating? You're not creating the jobs that are actually creating the product. You're creating the jobs that the stores of the cashiers. That's the job you're creating, the cashier jobs. Those are not jobs that show us as leaders of the next century,” Glenn said.