Nicolas M. Pasculli: Fed up, speaking out on national debt

Wednesday, July 20th, 2011

Every day for the past several weeks I’ve asked myself; “What is wrong with our country, our elected officials and the electorate?”

Do people just not read the newspaper or listen to the reports on television about the looming debt crisis we are facing in the United States? Are people so disengaged in the process that we should consider renaming our great nation the United States of Apathy?

We should all be outraged regardless of what party we belong to. This is not a Democrat or Republican issue; this is an American issue. And just to be clear — I am not a tea partier.

The debt crisis is real; it is affecting the core of our nation and our economy which are more fragile today, than ever in our history, even during the Depression.

I feel it as a small-business owner and others (clients) are feeling it, too. The American people feel it; look at our unemployment rate, foreclosure rates that continue to rise as income levels sink in comparison to what it takes to live in 2011.

Does the crisis in Greece resonate with anyone? Are we as a nation so arrogant to think that could never happen to us?

Well, wake up, people. The Greek taxi drivers had the right idea on Monday by staging a strike. If we Americans had the nerve we would stage a nationwide strike to protest the ridiculousness in Washington, D.C., by people elected to represent us instead of their own ambitions.

Have we become so apathetic in that we don’t rise up in protest of our elected officials and remind them who is boss? We are the boss! We are the folks they hurt by their irresponsible actions on Capitol Hill.

We, as small-business owners, community leaders, volunteers, employees, parents and Americans, need to send a strong message to Washington, D.C., — and Sacramento, for that matter — that elected leaders and corporate America are screwing up our country and messing with the future of our children and grandchildren.

Americans need to elect intelligent people who have our country’s best interests in mind, people who can play nicely together in the Washington sandbox.

Our elected officials are making a mockery of the United States in front of the rest of the world. Just look at these headlines:

• “Debt Worries Roil Markets”
• “Investors Fear Contagion of Greek Crisis, Washington Stalemate Over Deficit”
• “Capital Markets in U.S., Europe Rattled”
• “Hope Fades for Much Good To Come From Deficit Fight”
• “Debt Worries Disrupt Global Markets”
• “Dow Industrials Sink As Default Jitters Rise”

Wake up and smell the coffee (not the tea), and take back our economy. We need to raise our expectations of elected officials; they are there to serve us, not to use us as indentured servants.

It is not about conservative or liberal, it is about being responsible. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce (if it was not so caught up in self-interest lobbying) should be calling for a strike and/or demonstration to send a message to our nation’s capital and state capitals that we are fed up and our collective fatigue has reached its limit of tolerance for the nonsense happening in Washington.

Join me in contacting our elected officials to send a strong, united message on the debt crisis.