Twenty people have read this post now, and not one response. I'm not surprised.

The tale told by the numbers is daunting. You will never hear any of those elected to high political office discuss our fiscal problem in it's entirety. People who post on blogs and forums like this one, very much like our politicians, find it easier to state and re-state partisan political metaphors defending one side or the other--the liberals argue for increased entitlements and the conservatives accuse the government of being a "nanny state" and that the whole problem will be fixed if federal spending is cut. Both political parties call for the oh-so-popular tax cuts.

Neither side is correct. Neither approach is affordable and neither will begin to resolve our escalating national fiscal crisis.. The solution will be far more "lifestyle-changing" than any of us can imagine right now. The only question is who will make the decision to make those changes--our elected representatives or people from other countries to whom we have become beholden?

Again, I solicit your responses. If you disagree, please tell us all why. Explain a different alternative than I've outlined and explain how it might work. And please don't fall into the oft-used pattern of repeating partisan metaphors or attacking either the source of the information or the analyst--me. If you disagree with my conclusions, explain why they are incorrect and provide some supporting facts.

I'm waiting. We're all waiting.