DO YOU HAVE A BUDGET?

AND DO YOU USE IT? Not really asking for any personal information from any one.  This is a question for thinking about.  So, now that you have thought about it, do you have a budget and if so, do you follow it?  Exactly as you have it planned out.  All who do raise your right hand.  If not, raise your wrong hand.   This really isn't a post about your budget, just something to dither about. But think about it.  If you do have a budget, you probably are like the bulk of people in America, or even the world.  And you have a budget because you have a finite amount of money to use.  Whether you spend it all as soon as you get it, whether you spend some and put some in savings, or whatever you do with it, it is a finite amount that you have to deal with.  If you get a raise then you have more funds to budget with.  Obviously we do not all have the same amount to budget with, but we budget according to what we have.  So, on to the purpose of this post.  The Government.  As if you didn't already know what was coming.
The government recently went through a shutdown.  Or a partial shutdown.  There are many theories or thoughts about all of that; who caused it, why it was caused, who gets what out of the resulting back to work.  I am not going to go into that, except to say this:  The solution will only last until early 2014.  Then here we go again.  And congress wants to balance the budget by a series of methods.  Raise taxes, cut spending, ( yeah! like that is going to happen) but one of those cuts is one that will seriously affect senior citizens.  Of which I and my wife are two. Now, I have paid into the social security system since the 1950's when I was still in high school and got a social security card and a job.  I have paid into the medicare system since it went into effect.  My wife and I have $104.00 a month, each, held out of our social security checks to continue to pay for medicare.  Now, the government says this is an entitlement and cuts need to be made to them.  Well, I guess it is an entitlement, cause I have paid, and am still paying, into this system, so I am entitled to it. 
My version of an entitlement government program is one that the government pays to someone who has not paid into the system in any way.  And while that will hurt someone, if any cuts need to be made to entitlement programs, then those are the ones that need to be cut.  Not that I am suggesting that.  There are so many ways to balance the budget without cutting these programs that the House, the Senate and the President just won't look at that it is mind boggling, to say the least. Not that I would stop at the least.
So I guess what I am asking from this post, if any one actually reads it with a serious state of mind, please pay attention to what your legislators from your State are doing and then let them know that they need to do what is correct for the American people.
And one of the best ways to get these things done is to get the people back to work, in actual paying jobs to grow the economy, not government jobs that require their pay from the taxpayers.  I realize the government needs paid employees, and I am not saying that it does not, but I am saying that the economy will grow only when the american people get back to work. And paying taxes to pay the debt down.  In case you missed that, I said PAY THE DEBT DOWN.
Now, back to the budget.  When I have a budget, I have to stick to it, or, like the government, I will be in the RED.  The difference, I can't raise my debt limit and keep borrowing.  I have to pay it back.  Encourage your State Politicians to do this, or vote them out of office.
AND THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE DITCH BANK