In the United States today, over 50 million of our citizens are on food stamps. 26 million are either unemployed, underemployed or have quit looking for work. More than 11 million are on permanent disability.

The subprime housing finance debacle that led to the 2008 recession, in which we are still mired, is responsible for much of this but we are now in the process of repeating the same mistake. The mortgage market crash of 2007 was the result of policies that encouraged homebuyers to buy homes they could not afford.

 In similar fashion, students are now being encouraged to take out college education loans: two trillion dollars worth since 2009. With 50 percent of college graduates unable to find work in their chosen fields today, it is quite likely that many in the new crop will default on their loans and the taxpayers will once again be asked to pick up the tab.

With this looming debt crisis and our national debt now at 18 trillion dollars, a rational person might be inclined to think it would be a good idea to promote some resource development so we can begin to dig our way out of debt. Instead, our federal policy is more taxes, more regulation, more entitlement spending, more grizzly bear mitigation requirements and more wilderness area set asides. The latest forest plan calls for taking out forest roads so these areas will qualify for wilderness designation.

It seems to me our country is on a mission of self destruction. Is this because our nation is on a drug binge? I’m told our nation represents only five percent of the world’s population, but consumes 80 percent of all drugs produced. This might explain the madness so prevalent in our society today.

— Bill Payne, Libby