Live Within Your Means

Living within your means is usually a good thing. However, when I hear a member of Congress say "Americans should live within their means," it tends to upset me. In fact the first thing that comes to my mind is "YOU FIRST!!!". Congress sets up a budget with over $700 billion deficit. Now, don't go siting numbers that say it is ONLY (HA!) $162 billion because that number does NOT include the war funding. And besides that, it is STILL not within their means!!!
The other part of this is the basic standard of living that people had Jan 18, 2001 compared to now. This is the part that really makes me angry. We have good people that get up and go to work for their families everyday. They do what is expected of them. They do what is right. They are honorable. They aren't out buying yachts or porches or going on $400,000 spa trips! However in the last 8 years the cost of everything has increased more than their wages at a staggering rate. What once cost them $100 per week in groceries is now costing roughly $150. Yet they didn't not receive a $200 per month raise. On top of that add the increase in fuel since it has doubled in price as well. These are hits to American families that THEY did not cause. And then people say to them, live within your means. It would not be so bad if wages had increased as well but they haven't. Well, unless you are a member of Congress (over the last 10 yrs they decided they NEEDED $30,000 per yr raise). What is really sad is that their "raise" is even more than a lot of Americans even make in one year.
There is a thing called the MiseryIndex. It combines the unemployment rate with the inflation rate thus giving the MiseryIndex. In Jan. of 1993 when Bill Clinton took office the MiseryIndex was at 10.56% . When President Clinton left office Jan. of 2001 it was at 7.93 % ( 4.2% unemployment and 3.73% inflation). Right now after 2 terms of President George W. Bush the MiseryIndex is at 11.47% (6.10 % unemployment and 5.37% inflation). At this rate of inflation with wages either stagnating or going down living within your means , the same means you were doing just fine with in 2000 will mean living in a box!