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Guest Post: America’s March of Fiscal Folly by Stephen Grimble

As the primary elections are coming to a close and the November presidential election looms large on the political landscape, many Americans are weighing the pros and ultimately more cons associated with each candidate.  Many of us decried the bailouts of the Wall Street banks without so much as an offer of help for foreclosed homeowners, but in truth fiscal discipline is the crux of both financial crises in that banks and homeowners bet too heavily that they would retain their jobs, the market would continue to rise, and the economy would boom for many years to come. 

Fiscal discipline is a lesson even I’m still learning as finances were not openly discussed in my family, except for the “No, you can’t have that.”

To that end, I’ve got a special guest post from Stephen Grimble, author of For Love & Liberty, that addresses some of these concerns.  First, let’s check out the book:

About the book:

In his provocative, page-turning saga, For Love & Liberty, Stephen M. Grimble skillfully interweaves early American history with a poignant love story. He pays homage to the Founding Fathers’ sacred trust – to secure the blessings of liberty to posterity – through the actions of six distinguished citizens who, out of concern for America’s future, form the Madison Committee, named for the Father of the Constitution, James Madison. Reb McCoy, retired business executive, decorated Vietnam veteran, and philanthropist, agrees to chair the committee, whose charter is to determine what can be done to restore America to its founding principles: limited government, individual liberty, and fiscal solvency.

The Madison Committee proposes seven constitutional amendments known as the Second Bill of Rights, designed to curb the ever-expanding federal government and its runaway spending. Acknowledging that Congress would never approve these amendments, the committee sets out to secure two-thirds of the state legislatures to petition Congress to call a constitutional convention, the first since 1787. The committee realizes it must become actively involved in politics to have any chance of accomplishing its agenda. With his beautiful wife Marlenna’s blessing, McCoy runs for governor of Texas in 2014 and wins. He convinces many fellow governors to urge their state legislatures to petition Congress for a convention. Unanticipated events draw McCoy reluctantly into the 2016 presidential election. By the time the election is decided, more than two-thirds of the states have petitioned Congress to call a constitutional convention, but, fearing the loss of power, it fails to do so. In response to this breach of the Constitution and other usurpations by the federal government, three states seriously consider seceding from the United States and forming a new constitutional republic.

Read how McCoy and his colleagues try to ensure that the current generation of Americans honors the Founders’ challenge to secure the blessings of liberty to posterity. For Love & Liberty is a timely and cautionary tale, full of drama, romance, and a perspective on history rarely found anywhere.

Without further ado, please give Stephen Grimble a warm welcome.

As a recovering business and financial executive, I have long been concerned with the enormous and ever growing federal government deficits, debt, and unfunded entitlement liabilities run up for years by both political parties. In the not too distant future, if America’s fiscal solvency is not restored, the United States will face certain economic collapse.

Founding Father and second U.S. President John Adams once said, “There are two ways to conquer and enslave a country. One is by the sword. The other is by debt.” In America’s long and proud history, she has never been, and likely never will be, conquered by the sword. But unfortunately, we are on the verge of testing Adams’ assertion that a dissolute nation could conquer and enslave its people with debt.

A couple years ago, to refresh my memory, I reread the Constitution’s Preamble, which says in part, “We the People of the United States, in Order to . . . secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

Reflecting on these stirring words, I realized that the Constitution’s Framers were not only challenging themselves, but all future American generations as well, to ensure liberty was never diminished. Sadly, I wondered if my generation would be the first in America’s history to fail to secure liberty’s blessings to posterity. Would my profligate generation, that has permitted government to incur trillions of dollars in debts far in excess of its ability to repay, dishonorably burden generations unborn with the bill? If this were to be my generation’s epitaph, it would severely limit the individual liberty and opportunities to pursue happiness of future Americans that my generation has enjoyed and taken for granted.

In cogitating on this bleak prospect, I was inspired to write my novel, For Love & Liberty, which revolves around a handful of concerned citizens who endeavor to be a catalyst for restoring the constitutional principles of limited government, individual liberty, and fiscal responsibility, thereby securing liberty’s blessings to posterity. My intrepid, fictional protagonists also contemplate the fate of the United States if irresponsible politicians continue on their tragic march of fiscal folly, which inevitably will result in an economic calamity that will shake the nation to its foundation.

In writing For Love & Liberty, I chose the medium of fiction in the hope of attracting readers who may not have the time or inclination to listen to or watch politically oriented programs, but who do enjoy novels that offer history, romance and a provocative story line.  For Love & Liberty is an American political saga for our time, a love letter to America wrapped in a cautionary tale. Freedom Fever — Catch It!

Thanks for sharing your perspective with us, Stephen.

About the Author:

STEPHEN GRIMBLE is a retired executive and a member of SouthWest Writers. He currently resides in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he continues to call fellow patriots to the founding ideals of the United States Constitution.