It might seem contradictory for someone who writes government grants to state that government is not the solution to all our problems.

We thought the good times would go on forever and believed we would see profits grow in the oil and gas industry, in retail sales, and in the real estate market.

We wanted more and why not?

Times were good. We had the money and we had the means to supplement our local government with tax dollars.

Times have changed.

Now, we need to stop and consider our waste. We face the realization – for the second time in as many years - that our economy is expected to take a downward turn once again. That’s bad news.

We never considered putting our money away. We never speculated times would go bad.

It’s gotten so bad the Russians are predicting the U.S. will fall apart and split into six individual nations in 2010.

They’re even predicting a civil war, with Texas forming its own republic.

Sadly, the prediction comes from the same man who predicted the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1976.

But I don’t believe that’s going to happen.

Fortunately, our local real estate markets are doing well, our local retailers are holding their own, and the oil and gas industry appears to be on the upturn. For the most, our local economy appears insulated from the high number of foreclosures and job losses that have plagued the Northeast and Midwest in recent years.

That’s good news, but it brings up the urgency for us to reconsider where our tax dollars are being spent. Unfortunately, that’s not an easy task.

While our president is working diligently to revamp our waste, there are those who would prefer the status quo.

His opposition comes from those whose mission it is to find a means to acquire wealth for their districts.

That’s how congressmen judge their success: How much money can they appropriate in their district regardless of how high our taxes are going.

The truth is we don’t need new taxes. What we need is a cut in government spending even if it means cutting back on the amount of monies coming in to our hometowns. We’ve lived through tough time before. We can do it again.

So what should we do?

First, we must realize that federal spending has gone beyond what we can support. Our nation owes twice as much as is coming in. The Social Security system is in peril, our defense budget is off the scale, and Health Care reform is faltering, while the number of federal employees climbs every day.

Don’t be surprised if the retirement age is increased to 72. Don’t be surprised if your paycheck is cut once again. Don’t be surprised if old taxes resurface.

The next step is to eliminate waste. We need to put a stop to unnecessary hiring and high salaries in government positions.

We need to consolidate government offices, we need to eliminate costly programs that serve only a few, and we need to become more proactive in what our government is doing and how they’re spending our money.

For now, it appears all we can do is to tighten our belt. Put our money in generic drugs and purchase value products. We can put a few dollars away for a rainy day, and make it known that government spending isn’t always acceptable, but we’ll have to put up with the status quo, at least for a few more months.