It is extremely easy to visualize the BP oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. In fact, it is difficult to find anyone in the US who is unaware of the images of oil gushing forth into the surrounding water. It took some time to wake up the populace but now we are all engaged with the problem out there.

Not only are we aware of the sight of the gushing oil, but we are now fully cognizant of the problems that this oil has been causing. Who has not seen the photos and video of oil-soaked seabirds and other animals? Who is unaware of the brown and black sludge on the water and along the beaches? It is a nasty mess and, true to human nature, most of us are thankful that we are not having to get our hands dirty cleaning it up. Dare I say that we feel for the hard-working folks who are dealing with the problem on the front lines!

It is a horrible mess that worsens every day, every hour, and even by every minute. Our attention is captivated by the images that sear our retinas during the news cycle. I don’t believe any of us is unaware of the scope of this disaster. Such is the nature of a visual example, clear, and in-your-face.

Yet, long before this leak, there has been another one that erupted within our shores. It is far more deadly, far more dangerous, and even much harder to stop or remedy than the one that has captivated our attention. The leak is centered on Washington, DC and is the incredible fiscal leak of the National Deficit. Unfortunately, it goes unnoticed because its product and side-effects are not as visible as the tarry oil pouring into the pristine Gulf of Mexico. Maybe if we could imagine misspent dollars instead of oil gushing from the well, we may begin to understand the seriousness of the situation.

Just like the poor seabirds and other oil-slicked life on the coastal areas of Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama, our incredibly inefficient and debilitating social programs lead people down the path to ineffectiveness and death. The debt burden that we are inflicting upon our nation will only devastate the generations to come. We are all getting coated with the sludge of this debt. There is virtually nobody who has not been affected or infected with it.

Just like the problem with BP, the government can’t really help. Just as they do not have the equipment or expertise to deal with the oil leak, they do not have the tools to fix the fiscal leak because they are blind to its effects and actually keep adding to the problem.

I can’t offer the solution to the problem other than state that we all must wake up and see what is happening. If this fiscal leak is left unfixed, it will lead to a global disaster in the same way the BP oil leak would lead to a worldwide environmental problem if it were ignored (see my post The BP Oil Leak: No longer a not my problem problem). I believe that the power of this nation is in its people. We need to bring our collective grit, self-sacrifice, and fiscal responsibility to bear on this matter. The political powerhouse has set a precedent of ignoring the problem, of rejecting the voice of the people, and of layering on more programs. This all makes our nation hemorrhage money that it does not have.

We cannot expend our efforts on merely cleaning up the effects of the problem. The leak must be plugged. This is the only long-term solution in the Gulf of Mexico, and it is the only long-term solution in Washington. Our politicians rail at the callous disregard of BP executives in leading to the disaster in the Gulf, and their inefficiency and misleading tactics in dealing with the problem. Yet the same politicians have been just as callous in placing this mighty nation into a position of incredible debt and, in the same way, attempt to mislead their constituencies about their fiscal mismanagement. Plug the leak! Plug the leak!