Prolonging the Inevitable?

President Obama's student loan plan (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/10/26/obama-to-announce-plan-to-reduce-student-loan-payments/), albeit compassionate, is nothing short of prolonging the inevitable for all those holding student loans.  While the amount of academic debt Americans have incurred is alarming and unfortunate, this is not the problem, it is merely a symptom of a greater disease, the gluttony of entitlement.  For several decades, Americans have been fed a terrible lie, that they deserve what they want.  True, America offers enterprising individuals the chance to work for and gain what they want.  However, the only things guaranteed by the Constitution (and indeed the Creator) are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  Please note the distinction between happiness and the pursuit thereof.  On an economic level, happiness in America denotes financial success. Regrettably, a generation has been born, raised, and educated to believe that they deserve this success and the comforts it provides.  A post-secondary education is traditionally required and necessary, but it is not deserved.  Education is a privilege, it is an ideal worth aspiring to.  However, it is not a right, and, therefore, it may be obtained slowly if at all.  Americans do not like the latter phrase, "if at all."  We been raised in a country where almost anything is possible.  However, unless we begin a strict diet of responsibility and frugality, we will soon be living a a country where little is probable.  Benjamin Franklin warned,

Beware of thinking all your own that you possess, and of living accordingly.  'Tis a mistake that many people who have credit fall into.  To prevent this, keep an exact Account for some Time of both your [expenses] and your incomes.  If you take the pains at first to mention particulars, it will have this good effect; you will discover how wonderfully small trifling [expenses] mount up to large sums, and will discern what might have been, and may for the future be saved, without occasioning any great inconvenience. (http://www.historycarper.com/resources/twobf2/advice.htm)

Currently, America is writhing under the pain of the inconvenience caused by irresponsibility.  Our households and our White House are bloated by debt.  Taking on debt that cannot be paid has become not only acceptable but even a way of living.  America cannot survive let alone succeed in this state.  George Washington cautioned,

As a very important source of strength and security, cherish public credit.  One method of preserving it is to use it as sparingly as possible: avoiding occasion of [expense] by cultivating peace, but remembering also that timely disbursements to prepare for danger frequently prevent much greater disbursements to repel it; avoiding likewise the accumulation of debt, not only by shunning occasions of [expense], but by vigorous exertions in time of peace to discharge the debts which unavoidable wars may have occasioned, not ungenerously throwing upon posterity the burden which we ourselves ought to bear. (http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=82)


Unfortunately, those who are in debt (students or not) are left to begin the slow, arduous, yet worthwhile project of losing excess expense and adopting a lifestyle of discipline and frugality.  Next, this lifestyle must be passed onto future generations, that each may "bear their own burdens" and thus perpetuate a competitive and successful nation.  This evening, I had the privilege to hear former Florida Governor Jeb Bush speak, at the annual Fall Briefing hosted by Center for the American Experiment.  Gov. Bush praised the opportunities America provides for her people and reflected on the beauty of American ingenuity.  Because of these two great things, he called for our nation to encourage its children and students to become the best not just to believe they are the best.  It may be cliche, but today's students are tomorrow's leaders, and America must be raising a generation that can lead locally, nationally, and globally for America to remain a world leader.  A solid education in values, common sense, and responsibility are just as essential as the three R's.