Walter PattersonLast week, I had the opportunity to listen to a man who had made a great deal of money working in private equity.  
Private equity companies risk their own money when they make an investment – unlike Mr. Obama who has invested your tax dollars in green energy companies, and none have succeeded.  Billions of tax dollars have been thrown away for absolutely nothing, and yet Mr. Obama criticizes Mitt Romney for working for Bain Capital, a private investment company that was successful in turning about 80 percent of the companies it purchased into productive, efficient, and competitive companies.  Yes, these companies expanded and hired employees, something that the left does not want to admit.
This venture capitalist explained the workings of private equity firms and why they were important to our economy.  Near the end of his talk, he said something that I have felt all along.  “There is no way for this country to avoid a depression –no way.”
These are sobering words.  They made me sit up and take notice.  But after a moment’s reflection, I admitted that it does not take an Albert Einstein to figure this out.
The political class in Washington is more focused on getting re-elected than doing what is right for the country.  Unlike soldiers in battle who perform heroic acts, acts which almost seem impossible, we do not have brave politicians.  They simply have no guts.  
Let me give you an example.  Article I, Section 9 Clause 7 of the U. S. Constitution says, “No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law.”  We all learned in our 9th grade civics that all bills dealing with money must begin in the House of Representatives.
The Republicans now control the House of Representatives yet our national debt continues to rise at an alarming rate.  We owe so much money that most thinking people wonder if we can ever repay it even when we shift the burden to our kids and grandkids.  Soldiers who performed heroically on the battle field often sacrificed their lives.  No one in the Senate or House is willing to sacrifice anything let alone their life.  Their main concern is, “What junket can we get the American taxpayer to fund, and I need a raise.”  
The national debt will soon be $17 trillion.  The Democrats, when they came to power in 2006, started this debt ball rolling down the hill, but we cannot forget that the Republicans captured the House in 2010.  How significant is this.  We have the purse strings if we have enough guts to hold them.  What the Republicans should do today is tell Harry Reid, the most corrupt Senator in the history of the Senate, that no further consideration will be given to any appropriations measure until a budget is passed.  Folks, do you realize that the United States of America has been operating without a budget for over 3 years?  The Democrats have refused to pass three budgets passed by the House, and instead, want to rely on “continuing resolutions.”
This will take guts.   The Speaker of the House, John Boehner, will have to sum up some courage to do this. The extremist Democrats will go absolutely crazy and tell every lie that they can think of to scare the people of this country.  This action may, in fact, cost the Speaker his seat in the House, but sometimes the battle demands self-sacrifice.  On the other hand, he might earn a medal.
Now, I don’t expect any of this to be done.  Politicians aren’t about to sacrifice themselves for a little thing like the country.  In fact, I have a feeling that the Senate, in all of its left-wing irresponsibility, will vote to give our treasure and our resources to the United Nations.  Does anyone know how Senator Thad Cochran stands on the Law of the Sea Treaty?
Europe is now in economic collapse.  Socialism has finally taken its predictable toll, and within a short time, this economic disease will hit the United States. The citizens of this country see what is happening, and we know what to do.  
The problem is that our elected representatives are too cowardly to stand up and fight for what is not only legal, but what is right.
Unless a brave soul or a group of brave souls in either the House or Senate leads the charge for responsible government and puts the brakes on runaway spending, the private equity gentleman will prove to be correct.  “An economic depression cannot be avoided.”