I just returned from Washington where I had an opportunity to listen to the discussions swirling around about the stimulus bill and talk privately with members on both sides of the aisle.

The first thing that hits you is the magnitude of spending that is going on in Washington. What a contrast to the atmosphere in the 70’s when a balanced budget constitutional amendment was proposed by many of the younger members, including me. Unfortunately it never passed.
 
What we face now is unprecedented. Congress appropriated $700 billion for the first bail-out under President Bush; $350 billion of that was sent immediately to banks who proceeded to keep it and use it for such things as buying other banks both here and abroad. There was no oversight on this money and it did not accomplish what had been hoped for, i.e., loans. President Obama in a very short period of time, and without any hearings, pushed through and recently signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, a stimulus package of close to $800 billion. Congress is considering consolidating last year’s appropriation bills and passing them as an omnibus bill sometime in early March. This appropriation bill could reach $600 billion. Let’s not forget the loans to the auto companies, the bail-out to companies like AIG, and the new $85 billion program for homeowners in trouble. In a few weeks we have broken the $2 trillion mark in spending and more is coming.

I personally hope and pray that enough of this works so we can spend our way out of this deep recession. We seem to be changing the economic philosophy of our Country by such actions. For many years our economy was based on a free enterprise system that awarded those who worked hard and smart and penalized those who didn’t. If you made a mistake in your personal investments, such as buying a house you couldn’t afford, you were going to pay the penalty by losing the house. If you had a business that was overextended or in the wrong market or poorly run, you would lose the business and no one would bail you out. On the other hand, if you made the right decisions you were rewarded by our system. The approach now seems to reward those who made poor decisions or were incompetent. The justification is the impact of these many bad decisions could literally wreck our economy. Many argue we have no choice and they may be right.

For the first time in my life I am uneasy and worried about the future. We are cutting back as a family, and I am looking to sell my fishing boat. I am worried about the debt we are leaving my five children and my grandchildren. Who can believe the mess we are in?

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Lou Frey represented Central Florida in the U. S. Congress from 1969 to 1979. In his last election, he received nearly 80% of the vote. He was elected one of five Republican leaders in the House of Representatives during the 93rd and 94th Congress. He served on...