What a great anology

Commander Zero posted a link on his website to a somewhat alarming story indicating that 'policy makers' are starting to work on possible plans that would allow states in dire financial circumstances to file for bankruptcy, something they are not currently able to do.  The big thing with filling for bankruptcy is that it would allow these states to get out from under the crushing debts they have created, including the pension funds they have no way to fund.

Any person should be able to see that spending is out of control at all levels of government...with his brilliant bucket analogy, any idiot should be able to understand what is needed.

Imagine, if you will, a gallon bucket. Fill it with a gallon of water and lets call that water “general funds” or something similar. Now, get an ice pick and punch a hole in one side of the bucket near the bottom. Call that hole “pensions”. Punch a few more holes and give each one a name..”bonds”, “social services”, “schools”, and that sort of thing. Now, as the water goes out of those holes the level in the bucket is dropping, right? Okay, you have two choices – plug some of the holes or add more water. Lately it seems like no one plugs the holes, they just add more water. Head to the faucet (lets call it “taxes”) and get more water. As long as you can keep putting water in the bucket faster than its leaking out of those holes youre okay. But, as we are seeing, theres a bit of a drought going on..when you turn on the tap not as much water is coming out and its getting harder keep putting water into that bucket fast enough. So, you plug a few holes or pinch them off a bit. But unless you either find more water to put in that bucket, or you plug up some of those holes, or you do a combination of both….you've got a problem.

Of course, for this analogy to work, every needs to agree that their faucets have run dry.