It's Not Just obama

The federal government's fiscal year 2011 is almost half over, and our elected officials are still fiddling while Rome burns.

The fiscal year is nearly half over, but lawmakers are still shooting spitballs across the aisle over a very small part of the budget instead of doing what they should have done six months ago -- fund the government for the rest of the year. 

... Republicans and Democrats aren't anywhere close to tying a bow on 2011 just yet. Instead, they'll pass a three-week stopgap measure by Friday -- their sixth since last October.

And that means three more weeks of partisan hissy fits over spending conducted in the name of fiscal responsibility and concern for the economy.

This country is facing a critical economic crisis with profound long term implications, and the buffoons in D.C. can't even agree on a three-week budget

By focusing so myopically on 2011 spending, lawmakers are "chasing ants and ignoring elephants," said David Cote, the CEO of Honeywell International...

Some of the elephants include:

The national debt ceiling.

The Treasury estimates the country's accrued debt could hit the $14.294 trillion legal debt ceiling as soon as April 15. That's a little over a month from now -- and just a week after the next expected stopgap measure expires.

The 2012 budget.

In theory, the House and Senate are supposed to come to agreement on a budget resolution for 2012 in April.

It's an important document: It would lay out the spending and revenue levels for next year and offer guidance to lawmakers who would then spend months figuring out how to fund government programs and agencies.

In reality, the House and Senate are nowhere close to doing any of that. So don't faint when they get to Oct. 1 with no budget in hand and start passing short-term funding bills.

Reducing existing deficits and the overall national debt.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget put it this way: "Decisions our leaders make now will help determine whether we look back upon this time as 'the age of foolishness' or 'the age of wisdom.' " 

So far, foolishness is winning.

 For the full - and troubling - story, go here.

Thomas Jefferson once said "A politician looks forward only to the next election. A statesman looks forward to the next generation."

Unfortunately, we have a whole passel of politicians in congress...