Today's American politics is like a stolen car speeding down a road lined with multiple signs declaring "Bridge Out Ahead."

In the front seat, you have two drunken drivers who switch out every so often, one named Bubba W. sporting an elephant tattoo and the other Bubba O'Bama with a donkey pony tail. One likes to drive 70 mph and the other prefers 90 mph. Both like to set it on cruise control and enjoy the ride with a never ending song of 99 bottles of beer on the wall.

Over the miles, they've become accustomed to the many annoying warning signs; however, there will come a time when the rubber actually leaves the road, and a little porker pops on the screen squealing. "that's all folks!"

I guess you get the picture and already know that our beloved country is on the verge of heading off a real cliff of no return. The late respected Christian writer Larry Burkett once said concerning our national debt that President Ronald Reagan was truly the last president that could have addressed the problem.

However, I believe we still have a fading chance. Truthfully, both parties have largely driven us to this point with one commonality of drinking the same lethal brew of Keynesian economic policies. Based on big government intervention, control and the magical power to create money out of thin air, it's highly quick to intoxicate the one behind the wheel. We just can't keep endlessly printing paper money and expect the world to forever accept it, while we indulge ourselves into oblivion.

The answer for the ol' bubba brothers is first and foremost a change of heart, which of course would take an act of God. Perhaps they ride by and see a local church sign that reads "ask for the old paths, where the good way is." They begin looking back to when our country was founded, where our leaders had a vision of a very, very limited and restricted government.

They soon realize their liquid poison needs replacing with something like the of purity clear spring water. Luckily from a cooler in the back seat they find a bottle of Austrian economics, a school of thought that would actually change our country's directional course and not just merely our speed. It holds governments accountable with real sound money, empowers and rewards the individuals that actually work and provides a successful product or service.

Fellow citizens, we must elect drivers that drink responsibly and have a visionary map of where they are going. We don't need any more plastic puppets and entertainers with shallow sound bites of "9-9-9."

The time has come for us to dig deeper and demand for specific proposed budgets that actually address the seriousness of our looming debt crisis. So far only one candidate for president has actually submitted a line item budget, this is unacceptable. We need more information from all the candidates unless of course we want to just continue down the same old perilous highway.

Mike West
Cornelia