The Carroll Standard

Cracking Open the Piggy Bank

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Has anyone else seen the increase of old series cash notes circulating recently?  Well I have.  As a bartender I see lots of money through the course of the night and many more old series 10’s, 20’s and 50’s are popping up.  I had to stop and think about why these notes are coming about.  I realized that my fears must be correct. 

Since the bank no longer circulates these notes they must be coming from people’s privately stored savings.  The hard times we are currently facing have caused people to crack open the piggy bank.  Drawers in the garage with a few emergency bills are being raided and spent just to make ends meet.

 It was not until recently that politicians have begun to proclaim that the economy is not actually doing as well as they said it was a few months ago.   Now the Federal Reserve Chairman says that we will have to print more money to avert another recession.  But if you stop and think about this like I have been this is the plan they said would save us in 2008.  They printed billions of dollars to help to stimulate the economy.  Then when the recovery was too slow in 2010 they printed even more money.   Now we hear about Greece and the debt crisis in Europe.  They have done the same, tried to spend their way out of debt and accumulated trillions of dollars of debt in the process. 

In my view, we don’t need to keep racking up more debt and printing more money.  If people here in our area are spending bills that were issued in 1985, than our problems are becoming worse.  We need leadership to stop this vicious cycle and begin to manage our already near $16T U.S. debt.  We need to ease regulations on small business and make sure that all big businesses are paying their fair share.  When I hear that some big businesses are not even paying taxes like GE Capital last year, I have to wonder?  Fairness comes from accountability, what has our current representation been doing to really keep a level playing field?  The answer is simple, skirting the issue time and time again.  The time for talk has had its day, now we need to act.

On our current track in this country we will have similar problems to Europe if we don’t clean up our act and soon.  I think that Maryland is a good launching pad for setting the example for how we can begin to repair our economy without stimulus and crony capitalism.  I support polices that are good for businesses and for taxpayers.  This is a critical issue, people are suffering, and action is a priority. The solutions are out there we just need someone to fight for them.  I think that someone is me.

Eric Knowles is a Republican Candidate for Congress in MD Congressional District 3. Learn more: www.knowlesforcongress.org