[Absolutely Nobama]

Our country is broke because of Socialist Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and bloated federal pensions.

If you’ll note, none of the above is Constitutional.

[Smokin' Joe]

While I agree about Welfare, Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security (the latter two paid for by the boomers and later who likely won't get it), profligate spending at all levels and a host of other extraConstitutional Departments have siphoned off the treasury for far too long.

There, of course, is the swirling route to the abyss, especially when one considers the employees, pensions, and benefits which have accrued for all those extraConstitutional employees.

The only nation we should be building, at least according to my copy of the Constitution, is this one...and then the Federal Government should only be providing standards of measurement, coining money, and generally settling State level disputes.

(In the meantime, if National Security is so important, we could close that pesky southern border. It's been open since the Eisenhower Administration, and was recognized as a problem then.)

While Government can foster an environment suitable for the expansion and innovation of private sector business, safeguarding the inventor's rights and facillitating trade, it never was the engine of growth which was intended to provide direct employment for any but the absolute minimum number of people required to fulfil its Constitutional Duties.

The unfortunate state of affairs is that the Federal Government has become a self-perpetuating entity, writing the rules which demand it expand to fulfil ever more extensive and invasive roles while usurping the power of the States and the People. It is the Congressional abdication of legislative duties which has led to the Congress requiring that Executive Branch Agencies promulgate regulations with the weight of law and set the standards which ultimately determine their manpower needs.

These fiefdoms have long exceeded any Constitutional Authority, and continue to grow.