Fiscal Responsibility: A National Security Issue
Statement
In February, I sent a guest editorial to all newspapers across the state, asking them to print my views on the proposed federal budget and the massive spending that is taking place.
In that editorial, I point out that the president is proposing to spend $3.8 trillion in the next fiscal year. He also asks for tax increases and limits to deductions to increase the revenue to the federal government to the tune of $2 trillion. Even if that were to happen (which I won't vote for), his budget would still be nearly $1.6 trillion short. That means just over 40 cents of every dollar we spend will have to be borrowed, primarily from the Chinese government.
In January, on a straight party-line vote, the debt limit was raised to $14.3 trillion with no plan on how or when to pay it down. The Congressional Budget Office said they anticipate the debt to increase by another $9 trillion in the next decade.
Recent news reports have been highlighting the debt problems of Greece. That country's overall debt has hit 95 percent of their gross domestic product (GDP). GDP is a measurement of a country's economic output, so their debt is nearly equal to the value of everything they produce. The Greek economy is in chaos and the riots reflect the entire meltdown.
Economists believe that once a country's debt to GDP ratio hits 90 percent there will be an economic collapse. The European Union is discussing how to rescue Greece and the Greek government is attempting to put into place austerity programs to pay down their debt so they can refinance and avoid a financial collapse.
So what does the financial crisis in Greece have to do with the United States? At the end of 2009, our overall debt was 84 percent of our GDP. We are edging closer to the 90 percent that some economists say is the tipping point for a financial collapse.
We must not let that happen.
It is beyond time to get our financial house in order. We must cut our spending and recognize that we do not have a no-limit credit card to fund everything we want. Like hard-working Idahoans, we must prioritize and say no to things that are not absolute essentials.
I hope we are not too late.
Source