Walter Patterson Herald ColumnistThose of you who read this column knew that the United States was not going over the “fiscal cliff.”
Every politician in Washington was playing a game for the people back home, and this includes our two distinguished senators.  They can now claim that they did all that they could, but they had to vote for more “pork” in order to save this country from a financial meltdown.
The House played the game to perfection.  The congressmen argued, put themselves in front of any TV camera they could find, pretended to negotiate, rung their hands in mock desperation, then voted to increase taxes by $41 dollars for every $1 in cuts.  
I wish that all of us common folk could make deals like this.  But, alas, all we can do is work a little harder and dig a little deeper.  Taxes are going up, and you will see that reality in your next paycheck.
The country went over the “fiscal cliff” months ago.  The vote in the House on New Year’s night just added one more exclamation point at the end of the sentence.  The Speaker of the House, John Boehner, had already fulfilled his role by morphing into the worst negotiator in the history of Speakers.
He played his role as far as he needed to, and then turned the whole process over to Harry Reid, the Senate Majority leader.  When all was said and done, this country had picked up another $3.6 trillion in debt.  That will bring the U. S. indebtedness to $20 trillion in the very near future, and Obama wants more.
When this country goes “belly up,” and it will just as sure as the sun rises in the east, what do these politicians think will happen to them?   Back when a government “shutdown” was threatened, Obama gave that famous speech where he warned the Republicans that “all that stands between you and the pitch forks is me.”  My question now is,” Will Obama be enough?”
A study of history reflects what happens when a country can no longer pay its bills.  Things become ugly fast.  
With the dollar worthless, what will the people do? How will they get food?  How will they pay for the things that all of us must have to survive?  
The government will no longer be able to pay for any type of social program which includes food stamps, Medicaid, Medicare, farm support, medical services, the military, government workers, and a police force.  
Whom will the people blame?
If I were a senator or congressman, I think I would be contemplating making advance preparations to get out of the country. People who have labored and saved their entire lives are not going to sit by idly and see their life’s work go down the drain.  
The Democrats have instigated a “scorched earth” class warfare attack. They, and they alone, have turned the poor against the successful, and they have successfully divided the classes so that Americans have now formed a circular firing squad.  
Instead of moving forward as we should by insuring opportunities for all, the Democrats have worked the populace into such frenzy that everyone is suspicious of everyone else.  The so-called “rich” are not the problem.  The government could take every dime they have and it would pay for running this wasteful government for 11 days.  Is running the government an additional 11 days enough to hate successful people?  Shouldn’t every American aspire to be successful – and yes, rich?
Perhaps John F. Kennedy said it best when he said, “Ask not what your country do for you, but what you can do for your country.” Sadly we live in a day and time where half of the population has it hands out, and our government happily fills them.
We are at a turning point in our history.  Not since the War Between the States has our country been so divided.  What is worse, the “real fiscal crisis” that is about to occur  is going to change this country into Greece or worse, a third world country where all of us subsist on our own ability to scrounge food, medicate ourselves, and live a life of drudgery and despair.  
We need heroic leaders who will put the welfare of the American people above their lust for power and personal ambition.  We need leaders who will step up to the plate and declare that enough is enough.
We cannot continue this reckless course of spending money we do not have.  This insanity must stop.
There will be pain, but let me assure you now that the pain will be much less than the pain of an economic collapse.