We now come to the end of the second month of the new year, and we can now say with near certainty that Barack Obama, despite his lofty centrist rhetoric of late, will not be moderating his far-left positions on policy. Despite acknowledging the "shellacking" his party took for staying in lockstep obedience to his agenda, he seems determined to, in his own words, be a great one term president rather than a mediocre two term president. Of course, most Americans have a far different definition of what constitutes "great".

Contrary to his State of the Union comments admonishing us that we need to get serious about controlling the deficits, Obama earlier this month proposed a gargantuan $3.73 trillion budget which actually increases spending and leaves us with another $1.6 trillion or so in new debt. Within the next week we will hit the statutory national debt ceiling of $14.3 trillion, and we will be faced with the prospect of shutting down government if a compromise is not reached.

During the campaign season, Republicans promised to cut $100 billion in spending the first year if they regained control of the House of Representatives. It appears that some Republicans did not realize how seriously those that elected them took that promise, because they seemed unprepared for the backlash they received when they initially proposed only about $30 billion in spending cuts. Going back to the drawing board, they now propose about $60 billion in spending cuts (which meets their promise on a pro-rated basis since the current fiscal year is about half over), with even more to come in next year's budget.

So far, President Obama has promised to veto any spending bill that makes cuts to "important" services and programs. Yet because of the approximately 25% increase in federal spending over the last two years (higher when you factor in the non-stimulating "stimulus" bill), the record $60 billion in cuts represents only a miserly 3% of the proposed budget, and doesn't come close to putting a dent in the deficit, much less the total national debt.

In short order we'll find out who will blink first, Obama and the Democrats, or the new Republican majority in the House. It will be critical to control the message. Obama and the Democrats have already begun to paint any cuts as heartless and painful, and they will trot out story after story about somebody who will starve to death or go without medicine or lose their jobs if even a single penny is cut from the budget. Each of us have a responsibility to enlighten our friends and neighbors to the truth. And the truth is that Obama's budgets leave us with an additional $1 trillion per year in NEW deficits (and that is assuming a very, very optimistic growth rate, a rate which so far has no basis in reality).

The bottom line is that the federal government is spiraling towards insolvency, and a number of states are already there. Taxing the evil rich at 100% of earnings would not come close to ending the deficits. The only answer is to get spending under control and reduce the size and scope of government. Each of us has a part to play, and a vested interest, in making that happen.