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In Hamlet, Polonius counsels his hotheaded son, Laertes: "Neither a borrow nor a lender be, for loan oft loses both itself and friend, And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry." (In this context, "husbandry" means careful or thrifty management; frugality, or thrift.)

It's interesting to note that "in the days when Hamlet was first staged (around 1600) borrowing was epidemic among the gentry, who sometimes neglected husbandry to the point where they were selling off their estates piece by piece to maintain an ostentatious lifestyle in London." (Shakespeare Quotes, enotes.com).

Over 400 years later, here in America we find ourselves dealing with the same problem: uncontrolled spending. When it comes to husbandry, it's pretty obvious that little has changed. We have a profligate government and a spendthrift society, with growing numbers of people, businesses and government entities going broke.

A few examples illustrate the problem:

A recent Wall Street Journal article about the state of New Jersey noted, "In 1990 the state was $3 billion in debt. Borrowing has since grown at a compound annual rate of about 13%, and now the state is $32 billion in the red. Throw in unfunded pensions and health benefits for retirees, and that number swells to $113 billion, or $3,400 for every man, woman and child in the state. That's three times per capita higher than the national average, making New Jersey the nation's fourth-most indebted state." (Wall Street Journal, February 23, 2008, page A8)

In California, during a Senate floor debate on the day the state budget was sent to the governor (August 27, 2007), State Senator Tom McClintock said, "Today we set in motion events that will require far more difficult and painful decisions starting just five months from now in what is likely to be a much worse economy. I am afraid that with this vote, for the second time in a decade, this state is being driven to another Gray Davis-sized fiscal crisis that this vote makes inevitable for exactly the same reasons: Lack of restraint in good times combined with a lack of discipline in bad times." (NOTE: California's proposed 2008-09 fiscal-year budget was last reported to be $16 billion in the red.)

The City of Vallejo, California, is on the verge of filing bankruptcy, the first city in the state's history to do so; the City of San Diego has approximately $1.9 billion in unfunded liability for its employee pension plan; and Santa Barbara County has an estimated $200 million unfunded obligation for its employee retirement program. In addition, Santa Barbara County's proposed 2008-2009 fiscal-year budget is reported to be $26 million short, prompting consideration of a 10% across-the-board cut in every department.

Commenting on the federal debt, Terrence Jeffrey observed, "Thanks to the compounded negligence of four successive generations of politicians in Washington, D.C., however, every family in America is now on the hook for $455,000 over and above what they owe on their own mortgage, or student loans, or credit cards or can expect to pay in taxes under the current tax system." ("Your generous $455,000 loan to Uncle Sam," Conservative Chronicle, February 7, 2008).

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