There are four major ways for Washington to get more money: 1-raise taxes, 2-print it, 3-borrow it, or 4-change the tax codes in ways that encourage more profit and therefore more revenues without higher rates.

A lot of lip service was given to the fourth method during the 2010 national election, and since, but little has been done about it.

At the same time, one party keeps arguing for increased tax rates even if they would reduce revenue--all in the name of fairness.

This view entirely ignores the bottom line and just keeps printing money and borrowing.

In short, Washington is mess--and the American people know it.

We're not so much a nation of producers or even just consumers anymore, since too often Washington's spending doesn't really buy much.

Washington is turning us into a nation of spenders--not trading money for goods or services so much as just spending money in the hope that the more we spend the better things will get.

Sadly, it isn't working.

The more we spend from Washington, the less American families have in their pockets, the fewer jobs businesses offer, the lower our national credit rating gets, the less our money is worth.

 Simplistic, maybe.

But still true.