Every now and then it happens to all of us. You hop online to check your bank account balance, sit there in stunned silence as you look at a number you thought should be much larger, and go “Hey, our bank account is kind of empty, and it’s another week till payday. DAMN… I forgot about a couple charges I had made and that one check that I wrote.”

And we all do the same thing in response to this situation: we reel in spending until the next payday.

Our government? Erm, not so much.

See, there are lots of signs that we’re spending money too fast:

• In Tracy, California, residents will now be required to pay $48 a year for the privilege of being able to call 911, or else they’ll be billed $300 to call 911 and report their neighbor’s house is on fire, or their spouse is having chest pains.
• In Los Angeles, California, the Department of Animal Services is trying to track down unlicensed dogs, hoping the $15 licenses ($100 for non-spayed/neutered dogs) will bring in $3.6 million.
• In Illinois, where they are facing a $12.8 billion budget deficit, they’re considering “historic” tax increases across the board, including raises in income taxes, corporate taxes, and cigarette taxes.
• The Congressional Budget Office is reporting that — surprise! — Social Security is taking in less than it’s paying out. Not coincidentally, Obama’s health plan contains language that allows funneling money from healthcare taxes to Social Security.

So it’s obvious there’s a problem. (Or at least it should be.) So what is our government’s response to the bleeding of money at all levels? Build a $1,000,000,000 embassy in London, and propose a $1,000,000,000,000 government healthcare program.

Can someone please explain to these politicians the fine art of balancing a checkbook?