In his Presidential address last week, Barack Obama announced that he will be creating a new governmental organization to be watchdogs over the oil industry.

In light of the biggest ecological disaster man has ever known – millions of gallons of oil pouring into our beloved Gulf of Mexico – this may seem to some like a great idea. On the surface it may even appear to be a no-brainer.

That would be true, if government organizations existed only on paper or in speeches. Sadly, in this era of “let the government solve all my problems,” our ever-expanding government is the most inefficient bureaucracy man has ever known.

Our government is more than $13 trillion in debt, and it is climbing by the second. That is more than $42,000 per citizen and $118,600 per taxpayer.

So now that millions will lose their jobs and livelihoods due to this oil spill that we had nothing to do with, the answer is another government organization?

Sure, it’ll create a few jobs, but what is that in comparison to the millions of dollars in taxpayer money it will cost to start and run?

Not to mention the fact that it will certainly damage the efficiency of the oil companies, further hiking the price we citizens pay at the pump.

To make sure this never happens again is a simple formula: create a law requiring oil companies to place a shut-off valve at the base of a rig that can be remotely activated. It doesn’t take an entirely new government bureau to assure this is enforced, I think we have enough enforcement agencies already: police, FBI, CIA, DEA, ATF, IRS, Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard… Do I really need to keep going? Just send one of the them to make sure the valve is in place and works: problem solved.

But our current administration is never looking for the answer that is already there, such as paying off citizens’ mortgages to cure the housing loan problem.

They look for the solution that will give them more power and allies with power, such as lending the money straight to the banks so they can gamble some more.

Mr. Obama, you do not have to solve all of our problems. In fact, your government seems to cause most of them.

All the same, we like to believe that voting is our only voice here, so I guess we can’t tell you that for another two years and five months.

So everyone, reach into your pockets, pull out $118,600, mail it to Washington, and let’s get rid of this deficit!

Oh wait, that won’t quite cover it, because by the time it gets to Washington, the deficit will be closer to $118,700 per person, and that’s not figuring in inflation, so let’s just round it up to $120,000. And since Obama will probably create two or three more bureaus before it gets there, you might want to make it $150,000, just to be safe. Thanks.