Threat to U.S. economy

Sunday, May 1, 2011

With the U.S. government currently borrowing 42 cents of every $1 it spends, no one can seriously claim that it is engaging in sound, reasonable financial policy.

There is no immediate likelihood that the United States will default on its debt. But what if we did fail to pay what we owe? Such an event could deepen our ongoing economic crisis still further.

The fact is, there must be "payday someday." And in the meantime, we have to pay lots in taxes just to finance interest payments on the $14.3 trillion debt!

Who, among the president and members of Congress, can claim this is responsible management of our nation from the halls of power in Washington?

Congress has set a "debt limit" beyond which our federal government cannot go. But each time the supposed "limit" is approached, Congress just sets a higher "limit," and the problem gets worse.

The current debt ceiling is expected to be hit around May 16, the U.S. Treasury Department reports. That's only two weeks away!

We surely will not significantly reduce our government spending by then. So the prospect is that Congress and the president will just set a higher "debt limit" once again.

But that doesn't fix anything. It only worsens the problem.

Sadly, too many of our lawmakers and too many of our nation's citizens have not really gotten to the point where they understand the economic disaster that Congress is inviting by continuing to spend money recklessly - and by threatening to raise job-killing taxes, too.

Tax increases are not the answer to out-of-control spending; spending cuts are.

That should be the focus in Washington.