I heard that some bishops are saying that the proposed budget is immoral and that it will harm people. Before we look at this question, let us look at where the budget is today and how it got there.

The US budget has grown beyond our means to pay our bills. That is why we have such a huge national debt. Some might say that it is because the rich are not paying their fair share, but that is not true. We know it is not true. They already pay the lion’s share of the budget as it is. We recall that the Church teaches that a man has a right to his wage. So much so that it is a numbered among the sins that cry out to heaven to deprive a man of his just wage. It is also a sin to steal, that is why we teach that a person has a moral right to his property (property includes money).

Ok, so the budget is too big, how did it get there? Greed! Politicians have the wrong priorities. They vote to spend large sums of money on stupid things that they would never spend their own money on. We have all heard of the ridiculous types of research that they spend our hard earned money on. This is wrong, but it is only a small part of the problem. It still needs to stop though.

There are much bigger parts of the budget that are done for selfish and greedy reasons. One of the questions is whether the federal government should even be involved in some of these areas or not. This question is easy to answer. Just look at the US Constitution that defines the duties and powers of the Federal government. It is clear in the Constitution that if it does not say the Federal government can do it, then it cannot do it and that these duties and powers are reserved to the state and to the individual. The rights of the Federal government are known as enumerated rights. They are enumerated, i.e., they are explicitly named and given.

Law making and spending of money in these forbidden areas needs to stop. But what are some of these important areas? Once we name them, people will say, but if we eliminate these programs people will be hurt. Or they will say that we cannot take those programs back after we have given it to them, they depend on that money now. Is that not part of the problem? We have programs that do not lift people out of their troubles but rather chains them and restricts them from doing better in life. This practice is part of the selfishness in that politicians want them enslaved in this way so that they can get their vote. “We give you other people’s hard earned money so you do not have to do anything in life, vote for us.” This is also part of the selfishness in that people know that if they vote for certain people or certain parties, that they will get free money on the backs of other hard working American people.

All people need to get these illicit laws passed that fosters this unhealthy relationship between power hungry politicians and greedy, lazy citizens is a majority vote. It becomes a mob rule. We had 51% so you have to give us your money no matter what the Constitution says, it is the law!

This unhealthy relationship can be seen as being destructive simply by looking at the debt. Politicians have given, given and given to these people and they have been more than happy to take, take and take. Hence we have a bloated budget that is riddled with unjust and unconstitutional taxing and spending.

The rally cry of the people who are co-conspirators of the problem say but if you lower the budget, people will get hurt! As Christians, they will tell us that we are to take care of the poor and less fortunate. Then they will speak of the poor children, they will die!!! All of this is geared toward emotion and is not based in truth or fact. It is also said as a threat. If you want to fix the budget and take money away from these programs then you are heartless, greedy and are not being Christian. Or that you are a bigot and hate certain groups of people and that is why you do not want money to go to them.

That is an overview (in broad stokes) of the problem. Now, how do we fix it in a Christian and moral way?

Simply put, simply stop the wasteful spending and phase out the illicit and un-Constitutional programs. And the good news is that under President Trump we have an opportunity to do this. We have the opportunity to reset the budget to something that is more just and in line with the Constitution. I am realistic in that I understand that we will not get 100%, at least not today.

Problem – the republicans are afraid that if we do that, people will get hurt and they will not put us back in office. It may be too drastic to do what we promised. So the problem is not fixed and we the poor hard working citizens that pay the bills are left to suffer. They are so concerned about the suffering of those who get our money that they do not care about us who’s money they steal by using their thugs called the IRS.

The question becomes who is to get hurt? Them or us? It need not be that binary of a question, but it does need to be just and moral. The first steep is to remember that we are a Christian country and that we want to help people who legitimately need help. BUT NOT BY THE GOVERNMENT!!! Any help they give will be riddled with politics and strings. We need to do charity, something that this country is already known word-wide for doing with great generosity. Charity is done by individuals, seeing their brother in need and helping them. Charity is given from the heart, not from taxation. Charity is an expression of the heart and cannot be legislated.

Next we have to face the hard reality that these people do not have a moral or Constitutional right to these programs. The real harm is not that we might take the programs away, but that the programs were offered in the first place. You cannot help one group by causing harm to another group. Nor can you achieve any good by doing an evil by breaking the Constitution. This must be fixed. I agree that it must be phased out to give people time to adjust, to learn to work again, and to take responsibility for their own lives and wellbeing. We need time to kick out the illegal immigrants to open up jobs for our own people who will be going off the public dole. We also need time to develop local solutions.

For anything to work from a Christian starting point, it has to be the understanding that people are responsible for their own life and to care for themselves to the extent that they are able. After that, we can then supplement their needs, each according to their needs and no more.

We also need to keep subsidiarity in mind and deal with this help at the most local level that it can be taken care of. Larger problems need charitable organizations and churches to take care of the needs. Some are so big that they need to be done at the county, or state level. That is all fine and good and according to the Constitution and subsidiarity. It also just makes good common sense and good moral sense.

Fixing and resetting the budget is not about hurting people, but is about undoing the harm they have done to the hard working Americans by illegally developing these programs in the first place and spending money on foolish things and in foolish ways.

As you can see, I am not against helping people who legitimately need help, but we need to do it in the right way. Part of doing this is to undue the wrong way that has been inflicted on the American people.