There's no question that there's a growing sense among many, myself included, that government is headed in the wrong direction. It is far too big, spends far too much of our money (and spends it poorly), and it's far too obtrusive and burdensome to the citizens. Here's a chart that sums up the spending problem and, by extension, the size problem:

Go here for more details.

Our liberal friends like to talk about "sustainability." The government's enormous spending and gargantuan debt are nothing if not unsustainable, and it's a bipartisan phenomenon. The national debt under President Bush increased by a whopping $2.5 trillion dollars. It is projected to increase under President Obama by a mind-blowing $4.9 trillion. That's $4,900,000,000,000. That's $16,000 for every man, woman, and child in the United States. If my back-of-an-envelope math is correct, if you were to place that amount of cash in one dollar bills end-to-end, it would stretch from Washington, D.C. all the way to the sun -- five times.

And that's just the increase in the debt.

I will attend the Tea Party today in downtown Sarasota. I don't know if all the Tea Parties around the country will have a big impact or lasting effect on the course of our government, but I suspect they might. I believe there's a large, normally-quiet-but-now-fed-up segment of the citizenry that is finally ready to have their voices heard. They aren't happy with either political party. They know (and love) enough about our country's founding to realize how far we have strayed from its principles. They are afraid the United States is turning toward socialism. They are tired of taxes, taxes, and more taxes. They are repulsed by the very idea of a 60,000 page tax code. They hate wealth-transferring policies. They don't like the feeling that we are working for the government, not the other way around. They don't like how incredibly out-of-touch most of our politicians are.

At a time when almost all Americans are tightening their financial belts and streamlining their spending, the government is spending like never before. The Tea Partiers are looking for change... real change (not campaign fluff "change")... concrete change... fundamental change... For the sake of our nation, I hope today will be the beginning.