Right now, our federal government is $19.5 trillion in debt and continues to spend like there is no tomorrow. But why should we care about this runaway spending?

Remember your first credit card?

If you’re like the average American, you probably got carried away at first and racked up a huge bill. You had no idea how you were going to pay such bill and you panicked, but you were so lucky your parents were willing to help (“just this first time”).

If you parents hadn’t bailed you out and you were left with debt, you would have received some sort of penalty for it. Penalties for unpaid debt can range from steep late fees to even jail time.
The moral of the story here is that we citizens need to be fiscally responsible or will otherwise be penalized for our debts.

Which begs the question: Why is our government not held to those same standards?

More debt means fewer jobs, less economic progress, and lower salaries.

I hope we can all agree something must be done about this. It is critical we find people in Washington who will decrease this senseless spending.

Washington is in need of a huge wake up call because unlike our first credit card debt, there’s no one there to bail us out.

More from Kristin Tate:

• VIDEO: Why Minimum Wage Hurts Employers and Employees, with Kristin Tate

• PODCAST: How Limited Government Can Boost Personal Liberties with Rebekah Bydlak

• VIDEO: Kristin Tate Joins Capitalism.com to Defend Freedom