Frugality as a virtue

By Jim Thompson
HCP columnist

In the time of Harry Truman’s presidency, one can read of many efforts at frugality in the federal government. Old Harry led the way throughout and at the end of his presidency.  

Today’s Washington politicians seem to be in a contest to see how much of the taxpayers’ money they can shovel at the population. I assume the unspoken reason for this is to bribe the voters.  

If we could turn this upside down, we could go a long way toward solving our fiscal problems.

Robert Byrd, a former Ku Klux Klan member and U.S. senator from West Virginia, used to brag about how much money he brought home to West Virginia vs. the taxes paid by West Virginians. He always brought home more than was paid in.

Can we turn this upside down? It may be difficult, because 40% of the U.S. population pays no federal income tax as it is now. You can’t give them back something if you never took it away from them to start with.

Perhaps if we financially rewarded senators and congresspersons for lowering spending, we could make some headway. Or if we could just embarrass them for deficit spending.

Unfortunately, I think most of the politicians are beyond help.

So, what can we do? Just let the country drown in debt?

I have a silly idea…just say no. Become informed about the finances of the companies where you make your purchases. Learn to read their financial statements. Boycott the ones that take federal money.

I think you will be surprised at the companies that do receive federal money. You can check these using an AI program such as ChatGPT.  

I found, for instance, that a major grocery chain receives very little in federal payments. Continue to patronize it.

Then I found that a major old line auto manufacturer indeed does receive quite a bit in federal payments. Boycott it.

A certain professional sports team received $164 million in federal subsidies since 2000. Boycott it.

And then there is Amtrak, which receives about $2 billion per year in federal payments. Put it out of its misery.

As dear old Senator Everett McKinley Dirksen, R-Ill., once said, “A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you are talking about real money.”  

Unfortunately, with inflation, today we may need to substitute “trillion” for “billion.”

Jim Thompson, formerly of Marshall, is a graduate of Hillsboro High School and the University of Cincinnati. He resides in Duluth, Ga. and is a columnist for The Highland County Press.